The Fullmetal Alchemist Sister
by STLHero
Summary: FemNaru. AU. When Naruto was reborn as the twin sister of Edward Elric, it changes everything and nothing at the same time.
1. Chapter 1

For as long as Edward could remember, his twin sister Emma had always been different.

Out of all his siblings, his twin sister was the only person who didn't inherit their father's eye colour, having inherited their mother turquoise eyes and those strange whisker marks on her cheeks. Emma always clung to their mother and father, demanding for hugs and being picked up by their father. Sure, Edward loved how their mother wrapped her arms around him but it wasn't like his younger sister. Alphonse was a toddler but he wasn't like his big sister. In fact, Alphonse asked for less hugs than his twin sister.

"Play with me, Ed."

Edward looked away from his storybook and stared at his twin sister, who had one of the toy blocks his mother had given him for their second birthday. Just like Winry, his younger sister never went for the dolls their mother and friends gave her. No, his twin sister always went for his toys. Not that he minded because his twin sister was more fun to play with. She never ever cried whenever he picked on her, always smiling and laughing at him while their baby brother cried.

"No."

"Why not? Mama won't play with me because she is taking care of Al," his twin sister said, folding her arms against her chest. "And she wouldn't be spending so much time with our baby brother if you haven't made him cry again. It is your fault he is always crying."

Edward scowled at his sister's words and wondered why she always took Alphonse's side over his. They were twins so why didn't she take his side? Why must she always worry about their baby brother? And why wasn't she angry their mother favour their only brother over them? Of course, Emma also had their father's favour. Father would smile at their sister, ruffled her blond hair and accept her demands of him carrying her over his shoulder. His baby sister didn't understand why he kept picking on Al and her.

"Mother always prefers to take his side over mine and the same goes for you," Edward muttered, looking away from his twin sister's curious eyes. His sister blinked her eyes, stared at him for a good few seconds before finally taking a seat beside him and his open storybook, which told fairy tales of a land far away. The girl flickered her eyes to the book, looking at it with a pain that Edward didn't understand, before looking at him straight in the eye. "You and mother love Al more than me."

"I don't want to take Al's side all the time but you always make him cry," his sister pointed out, staring at the book. "Mama doesn't take his side because she loves him more than she loves us. She carried me and you together and babies aren't easy to carry if they are anything like the puppies that one of my friends have. Also, I don't love Al more than you! The both of you are my little brothers!"

"I'm the older twin!" Edward grumbled, earning a laugh from his sister. Why did she always call him her little brother? Who was Emma to call him little? He was older than her by ten minutes and she was shorter than him by one inch. If anyone should be called young, it should be Emma. She was the shortest one between them and the younger twin, not him. Mother and Father always pointed this out to her but his sister refused to listen to them. It was getting to the point their parents was simply agreeing to their sister's demand.

"You don't act like the older brother," Emma grumbled, staring at him with strange eyes. "Big brothers are supposed to protect their younger siblings, Ed and you haven't done a good job on it. It is our job to protect Al when Mother can't protect him even if it is from each other. She wouldn't have given birth to us if she hates you and if I didn't love you, I wouldn't ask you to play with me or tell everyone you are my brother. I wouldn't have to tell you all my secrets or explain to you why Mother spends so much time with baby brother 'cause I would let you get into even more trouble."

"You let Mother scold me for being mean to Al."

"Being scolded by Mother isn't that bad," Emma said, looking out at the window where their younger brother was following their mother. She smiled at him like she knew something he didn't which was impossible because he had always been the more knowledgeable twin. "A lot of people would kill to get scolded by a parent once in awhile….it means someone cares about us, it means they are paying attention to us."

It is when his twin sister says those words that even at the age of two, Edward knew his sister was hiding something from him. He didn't know what it was but the sadness in her eyes was strange. It made her look older and he didn't like it. He was the older brother, he was the one who should look older, not her. Emma was supposed to be the happy twin; the sister who would never stop smiling even when he picked on her.

"I still don't like the fact she scolds me."

"One-day little brother, you will miss the way Mother and Father scold you," his sister said, staring out at the window. "And when that day happens, you will only have me and Al to help you through it, which is why you should be good to us! Now go downstairs and apologize to Al for being a jerk. Please, Ed, Al is our only brother and we need to protect him like Mother protected us when she had us."

When his sister put it in that way, Edward guessed he had no choice but to apologize to their baby brother but he was going to do it in front of their mother. He understood his sister's point and maybe he could be a bit more nice to their younger brother, if not for Mother's sake then for Emma's sake.

The last thing he wanted was to disappoint his twin sister too.

* * *

It had been two years since Naruto Uzumaki was reborn into Emma Elric but unlike her previous life, she had a big brother and a little brother to protect and two parents who loved them with all their heart. Trisha and Van Hohenheim were never going to replace her first parents but they were giving her everything she used to dream about in her previous life. Her mother brushed her long hair, hugged her and praised her for every good deed she did while her father, though distant from her, never refused her demands for hugs and piggyback rides.

It felt good to have so much affection from them but at the same time Emma couldn't help but noticed that something was wrong. Not with their family as a whole but with their father. Van Hohenheim's energy didn't feel completely human, not like the way her mother and sibling's energy felt. It was something she came to noticed when she regained her memories of her past life.

Feeling her throat clogging up, the little girl tightened her grip on her twin brother and baby brother. The death she had saved the world and had given her the life she so dearly wished she had when she had been Naruto Uzumaki. It was, for this reason, she clung to her parents, protected Al and played with Ed like there was no tomorrow.

She would do anything to protect her brothers and parents even if it meant giving her life for them.

Emma kept her eyes closed when she felt her father standing over her and her brothers. Was he going to stare at them like usual? Why didn't he ever stroke their hair or cheeks? What was it about them that their father was scared about? His fear was something she could feel radiating in spades just as she could feel her mother's concern radiating through the door.

"You know you can stroke their hair or pat them," her mother said to their father. "You shouldn't wait for Emma to demand those things from you, for you to do it. They are your sons and daughter. Why must you be so restrained with them?"

Emma closed her eyes tightly and tightened her grip on her two brothers. Her mother was asking him the one question which had been in her mind from the moment she received the memories of her past life as Naruto Uzumaki. This man was one of the few father figures she had, the other being Iruka-sensei and Jiraiya. She knew from her own memories, from watching the other kids that it was strange for their father to try to be distant from them.

"I don't want them to become monsters like me."

Monsters? Did her father really believe he was a monster? Emma knew what real monsters were like. Monsters were people who had wanted Naruto Uzumaki to die and tried everything in their power to make it happen. People who loved to kill, people who would ignore the cries of a crying child were monsters. Van Hohenheim was anything but a monster to her. A monster wouldn't radiate with the guilt that her father had.

Emma let go of her brother and twisted to her stomach, wishing not for the first time she could tell her father that she didn't think he was a monster. She wished she could tell him about her past life, about the things she experienced and the way she died but her father would never believe her. No one would ever believe her if she said she was Emma Elric and Naruto Uzumaki because you couldn't be two people at the same time.

" _ **That man doesn't know what a monster is, does he Naruto?"**_ Kurama said to her as she thought about the conversation she overheard. " _ **A monster wouldn't have done the things he did for you. He wouldn't have given you those piggy rides that you asked for so much nor would he deny you the right to live."**_

" _I can't tell him something that he won't believe in,"_ Emma whispered as her mother's smooth hands pushed her long golden hair back. " _Do you think he will believe in the idea of reincarnation? It goes against his very belief as an alchemist. Even then, what if someone overhears me when I tell him this? What if he asked me how old was I when I died? I can't tell him I died seventeen by the hands who I loved with all my heart."_

" _ **You still love that fool even though he was the reason why you could never accomplish your dream? You still love that blasted Uchiha despite the fact he killed you!"**_

" _I wish I can control how I feel,"_ Emma answered, causing Kurama to shut up. " _Do you think I want to stay in love with him? You think I don't know what he did to me. His actions has been haunting me for the past three months...I am afraid to sleep because I know I will see his bloodied face and body."_

" _ **Naruto…"**_

" _Do you know what his last question for me was?"_ Emma asked the fox as she placed her hands over her two brother's bodies. " _He asked me if the two of us survived if I would give him a chance? He told me the word sorry, a word I thought he didn't know how to pronounce."_

" _ **And would you? You don't know if he has been reborn like you or if they even gave him the chance like they did with you,"**_ Kurama stated and the blonde knew the fox was scowling at her. " _ **That Uchiha of yours carried so many sins and did things that aren't forgivable. He murdered you in cold blood!"**_

For all Kurama knew, Truth may have allowed Sasuke to pass through the gates. There was no telling what went through that being mind but then again her friend would need to give something in return. The sins her friend carried were just too big for it to be ignored. He had murdered his big brother, had lied and did so many other terrible things just because he wanted revenge.

She wouldn't let Edward and Alphonse walk down a dark path and would make sure they become good people.

"I will protect you guys," Emma whispered, gazing at her two young brothers. "Even if it is from each other because I don't want to lose another member of my family. I will protect the two of you and our parents with all of my strength."

Something was telling her that those two brothers of her would need all the protection that they could get.

* * *

A/N: Please review and tell me what you think. Also, would anyone be willing to Beta-read this? Please PM me if you are interested.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: I would like to thank everyone who reviewed the first chapter as well as everyone who added this story to their favorites and follows.**

* * *

Looking up at the tree behind their house, Emma wondered if she could climb it without using her hands. It had been a few months since she got her memories back but not once had she attempted to do her old tricks again, not with Edward being upset with their little brother and her annoying nap times. Now, however, was the perfect time to do these tricks. Her father was too busy stuck in his office while her mother was making them lunch. Alphonse and Edward were sleeping like there was no tomorrow, which meant now was the perfect time to do it.

Emma placed her leg on the tree, allowing her chakra to channel down to the sole of her foot before placing the next foot on top of it. If she was going to protect her family then she needed to become strong. No, if she wanted to protect this country then she needed to join the army. The army would give her more than enough money to help support her siblings and satisfy the desire her wandering spirit.

" _ **You could choose another occupation Naruto,"**_ Kurama whispered as she took another step on the tree trunk. " _ **You have already seen war and seen its consequence. Why would you want to go through it again? You could wish for another job to satisfy your desire to see the country."**_

" _Edward is going to become like Father; he is going to be an alchemist,"_ Emma answered, remembering how she caught her brother looking at their father's books with curiosity. " _Alphonse likes looking around and I know he is going to be like me, wanting to see the world for what it can offer. I want my brothers to do what they love in a country that is safe and for this country to be safe, I will need to work in the government and fight in wars so they have the chance to do what they want. Besides, I like fighting and being a soldier is all I have ever known. I can't imagine being anything else."_

She turned her body and walked towards the end of the branch before taking a seat on it. Being a doctor was the last thing in her mind while Alchemy brought her no joy. Sure it was interesting, reminding her of the sealing text that she would spend ages reading on but she could not bring herself to do the research. Alchemy could be a tool she could use to protect her siblings and parents but this was as far as she would go.

Taking a deep breath, the blond-haired girl turned to look at the clear blue sky. Protecting her family was going to be her priority in this life, making sure to live to the age of eighteen would be the other and her final priority was to have a family of her own and be her own boss.

Even now when she closed her eyes, Emma could imagine the future she wanted. Her brother smiling and teasing about her being promoted while her mother hugged her, telling her just how proud she was of them. Their father would give her a small smile before saying to her that she made the right choice in joining the army. It would be a happy day once she reached the position where she only had to listen to one person or to no one at all.

"Where are you, Emmy?"

Her mother's voice snapped her out of her daydreams and brought her back to the reality of her situation. It would be a long time before she could join the army and even longer time before she would get the position that she so desired. For now, she was just a child filled with two sets of memories. For now, she would need to be content in being raised by her parents alongside her brothers.

"I'm up here, Mother."

Trisha blinked her eyes and stared up at the tree branch, where Emma sat with her legs crossed over. The fear and concern in her mother's eyes made the blond-haired girl smile. It felt good to have a mother who was worried about her, who cared about her safety. How many times had she wished for someone to care for her? How many times had she cried herself to sleep because of the lack of love she had? Too many times but now Emma had someone who loved her.

"How did you get up there?" Her mother cried, looking around their backyard to find the source of her climbing the tree. Shaking her head, Trisha sighed. "Stay right there, Emma! I'm going to get your father to make you come down here. God, this is what you are like at the age of 2, I don't know what you are going to be like when you are ten."

Emma giggled, earning a smile from her mother. Was it wrong for her to consider Trisha her mother? Even though she gave birth to this body of hers, her memories were that of another person. She had never known Kushina Uzumaki but her first mother threw her life away just to protect her and the same went for Minato. Would it be okay if they understand her devotion to these new set parents of hers? She probably would never get the answer to that question.

" _ **Kushina wouldn't be angry with you if you consider Trisha, your mother,"**_ Kurama stated. " _ **Trisha still gave birth to your second human body and is giving you the love that your first mother wished she could have given you. All Kushina ever wanted from you was to be happy and if calling Trisha your mother makes you happy then she would be happy."**_

" _Kushina Uzumaki will always be my first mother,"_ Emma declared. " _She protected me from you and carried me for ten months in my first life...I will never ever stop considering her my mother."_

"Emma, come here."

The blonde blinked her eyes at the sight of her father holding onto the tree trunk, hand stretched out as if asking her to take his hand. Smiling widely, the little girl launched herself at Hohenheim, who grabbed hold of her. Her father stared down at her, flickering his eyes towards her clean hands. He frowned but made no comment about it, instead, he slowly climbed down the tree. Once they finally reached close to the ground, he handed her to their mother.

"Emma Elric, don't climb any trees unless someone is watching you," her mother scolded as they walked towards the bedroom where she shared with her brothers. "You could have broken your arms or legs!"

"But it didn't happen, Mother," Emma said, waving her hands at her mother. "See? I'm not hurt."

"Emma, you could have been badly hurt if you have taken one wrong step," her mother pointed out as she placed her next to her sleeping brothers. "If anything happens to you then Mommy would be very sad and you don't want Mommy sad, do you?"

The blond-haired girl shook her head and stared at Trisha's eyes, which still shone with worry and concern, before looking up at the window, which displayed the outside world. In order to make her mother happy, Emma knew she would have to do her training when her mother was not looking for her. She would have to do it in the dead of night because telling her mother and father about chakra would be hard. Even with her nineteen years worth of memories, she still didn't know how to explain the concept of chakra.

She always left the difficult bits to Sakura.

"I won't do anything that worries Mommy," Emma said dutifully.

The young woman relaxed her shoulders and smiled at her, before stroking the little girl's blond hair. Closing her eyes and relaxing her body, Emma saw the images of the people she lost in her previous life. What happened to everyone else? Were Kakashi and Sakura successful in freeing everyone from their dreams? Who became the Sixth Hokage? There were so many things she wondered but she was content to wait for the answers. For now, she would enjoy her mother stroking her long hair.

The past had taught her that you should treasure the time you had with your family and friends because you would never know when it would be taken away from you.

* * *

If there was one thing Emma would admit without a second thought, it was the fact she was just as curious as Edward when it came to their father's studies. Ever since their mother had their photo taken, Hohenheim had spent every waking minute studying his journals and reading every alchemy book there was out there. What was driving him to spend hours in his office? Why didn't he ever notice her twin brother and her whenever they peeked through the door, hoping to gain his attention. What was so important in those books? Those were the questions running through her mind as she drank her milk and stared at her father.

"What are you thinking about, this time Emmy?" Edward whispered to her as he grabbed his own bottle of milk and placed it under the table. The blond-haired girl smiled and glanced at their younger brother, who was eating the yogurt Trisha brought for him, and then to her chatting parents, before finally taking the milk bottle from his right hand. "You have been acting funny ever since Mother made you wear a dress in our family photo."

Gulping down her brother's milk, the little girl stared at her brother's curious eyes. Should she tell him about the burning curiosity she had about their father's work? Or should she wait till their father was in his room before telling him? Either way, she wasn't going to keep her curiosity hidden from him. Edward deserved to know about her insatiable curiosity to know what was going through their father's mind.

"What are the two of you whispering about?" Her mother asked, drawing everyone's attention to the two of them.

"We were talking about how Father doesn't spend any time with us since he is always reading his books," Emma answered, staring straight into her father's golden eyes. Both of her parents blinked their eyes at her while her brother stared at her with wide eyes, no doubt realizing this was what had been in her mind for the past couple of minutes. Alphonse just stared at her with confusion. "Edward and I are trying to figure out why Father is studying so much."

"Emma…"

She felt her heart clenched at the sight of her father's sadness and wondered if it had been a good time to spring the question on him. There was no way Hohenheim and Trisha would ever tell her what was happening, not when they think she was too young to understand what was going on. To them, she was their little princess, their two-year-old daughter who didn't need to worry about a thing. It wasn't their fault they didn't know she had seventeen years worth of knowledge stuck in her head or that mentally she was a nineteen-year-old.

But it didn't mean it didn't hurt her not to know what was going on.

"I'm doing research that could help our family," Hohenheim answered before her mother could open her mouth to scold her for asking such personal questions during breakfast time. The blue-eyed girl tilted her head, stared at her father's body language before smiling widely at her father, who sighed and shook his head at her.

" _ **Do you actually believe he is telling the truth, Naruto?"**_ Kurama questioned her as she gulped down the bottle of milk her brother had given her to drink. The little girl didn't need to close her eyes to know the nine-tailed fox had an ugly scowl on his face. " _ **If he is doing research that could help this family then why isn't he telling you what this research is? And why is Trisha so tense about the fact you and your brother are wondering why he was studying so much?"**_

" _He isn't lying to me, Kurama but I also know he isn't telling me the whole truth,"_ Emma answered, snatching the bread from the basket before Edward could take it away from her. Breaking the bread in half, she handed the other half to her twin before continuing on the conversation with the fox that had been with her in both lifetimes. " _For now this will be enough for me."_

" _ **You have finally learned to become patient, brat."**_

" _I didn't learn to become patient, Kurama,"_ the blond-haired girl admitted as she spread butter on her bread. Staring at her sandwich, the little girl gazed at her father and smiling mother before looking at her two brothers, who looked at her with so much concern. " _To be honest, I don't think I am ready to know the whole truth behind my father's research. I think it has to do with the reason why he thinks he is a monster…"_

" _ **And you are afraid if he tells you that it might ruin the image you have of him and that is why you aren't pushing him to go to further details,"**_ Kurama guessed as she took a bite of her sandwich. It didn't surprise her how the Kyuubi knew her real reason for not demanding more answers. Out of everyone in this table, only he knew the truth about her. He was the one who knew her deepest and darkest secrets, knew about her desires but most of all he knew how much she wanted to think their family was perfect.

" _Can you blame me? I never truly had a father until the day I was reborn,"_ Emma grumbled and she knew if she could see the fox that he would be looking at her with guilt. It had taken him so long to be reminded of the fact he hadn't been the only one to have to suffer on the day of her first birth. " _I want things to remain peaceful; I want to be a little bit foolish and naive, Kurama. I just want to have the childhood I never got to experience….is that wrong? Is it wrong I want to hug them? Is it wrong I just want to pretend for a little bit that I haven't had blood in my hands! Is it wrong I don't want to know everything just yet? Is it wrong I want to be normal for just a while?"_

She knew she was being hysterical but Neji's dead body, the blood leaking out of Sasuke's arms and the mountain of corpses that had surrounded her in her deathbed kept running through her mind as she asked Kurama those questions. Why did Truth let her have this life? Why let her have these memories when he knew it would cause her nothing but grief? Was it to serve as a reminder of how weak she had been? It must be because Emma would make sure to never see the corpse of someone she loved and cared for.

"Emma! Why are you crying?" Her mother cried. "Sweetheart, what is it? Honey, tell us what is wrong!"

Touching her chubby cheeks, the blue-eyed girl dimly realized the water was hitting the tips of her finger. No, Emma corrected herself, she had a river of tears flowing down her fingers. She might be Naruto Uzumaki but she was also Emma Elric at the same time. Despite having these memories, she still had the reaction of a two-year-old. She hadn't learned to control her emotions just yet...but she would soon. She would not let anyone use her emotions against her.

"It is nothing, Mother," Emma said, forcing herself to smile at the woman who had given her more love than she had ever experienced before. "I was just remembering the sad fairy tale that you read to me and Ed and how sad it was that the warrior princess never had her happy ending."

But unlike the story her mother told her and her own experience, Emma was determined not to end up dying at a young age.

* * *

Hohenheim thinned his lips and cleared his throat before opening his kids' bedroom, where he knew his daughter would be drawing images on the walls. Trisha had wanted to confront Emma about the real reason why she was crying but he doubted their daughter would ever tell the reason. Just like him, his daughter rather preferred to keep her mother in the dark then tell the truth. In fact, he doubted Emma would tell him the truth but he knew she would give him hints on what was going through her mind.

Well, she wasn't going to be willing to give him hints but he was better at reading her then Trisha ever was.

"Drawing again, Emma?" He asked as he took a seat beside his daughter on her bed. Tearing her eyes away from her piece of paper, the little girl stared up at him before giving him a small nod. He looked over his daughter's shoulder and frowned when he noticed there were Xingese characters written in a circle. _No,_ Hohenheim corrected, noticing a difference in the stroke, _this is a different language._

But the question was where was this language from?

"I'm making up a new language," his daughter said, drawing his attention away from her piece of paper. "It's pretty cool right? How many people could say they are making up a new language?"

"It is very similar to Xingese," Hohenheim informed his daughter as he stared at the piece of paper with interest. Now that he looked at it closer, he couldn't help but feel like he had seen that language somewhere but where had he seen it? Even though he had four-hundred years worth of knowledge, he still couldn't pinpoint where exactly he saw it. "Why are you making up a new language? Do you have something to hide from your mother and me?"

"Everyone has secrets," Emma said, fixing her eyes on him. "Mother and you have secrets just like Edward and me have secrets. If I don't want people to find out about my secrets then I need to make up a language, only I could understand. Secrets can be dangerous if people find out right? Edward and I took turns in reading that spy book Mother loved to read."

His daughter was just two years old and already she was thinking of making codes. He was torn between feeling proud of how intelligent Emma was or concern about the fact she already had secrets to hide from him. Why would she feel this way? Not even her twin brother acted like this way and he knew his oldest son was very much capable of thinking like Emma, except maybe even a little bit tamer. Hohenheim doubt Edward would go to the extent Emma was doing.

"And what secrets do you have, Emma?" Hohenheim asked, turning his head around as he tried to figure out where he had seen the image before. The character was similar to Xingese but the strokes were less and a few of the character didn't match any of the Xingese he knew. It could be a new language like Emma claimed but it looked familiar to him. In fact, the way the characters were being drawn looked familiar to him and if he didn't know any better, he would think it was Alchemy.

However, he knew better because the way it was being drawn wasn't similar to any Alchemy he knew.

"It won't be a secret if I tell you, will it?" His daughter said in a matter of fact tone as she added more characters into the paper. "It isn't anything bad if that is what you are scared about."

"Does it have to do why you were crying?" Hohenheim guessed. Judging from the way his daughter froze at his question, he must have hit the nail on the target. So his daughter's secret had something to do with her crying but what could it be? Emma had never truly been inside the small village without either him or Trisha by her side so what could it be? Did it have to do why she preferred to go to the forest even when her mother had warned her not to do it? No, his young daughter was always upset whenever he dragged her out of there. "You know you can tell me and your mother, Emma. We won't judge you."

"Do you ever dream about something as if you were there?" Emma asked quietly, staring at the piece of paper with a quietness that he didn't know his young daughter possessed. "Do you ever wake up and wish you could change things? I sometimes dream that I don't have you, Mother, Ed and even Al by my side. I dream of a place where I have no one to go to when I am sad and it hurts, Father. I dream of things and I wonder if it is all in my mind or if it was true."

He wished he could say to Emma he would always be by her side but at the rate, his research was going, Hohenheim knew he was going to leave his family behind to find a way to end his immortality. However, he understood his daughter's fears because it was the same fears he had. Even though he had Trisha and had three beautiful kids with her, he still wished he could change what happened in the past. He wished he didn't have blood staining his hands.

"I used to wish I could change things and even now there are still times where I wish I could have changed things," Hohenheim admitted, putting his large hand over his daughter's hair. Unlike Edward and Alphonse, he knew Emma always wanted to physical contact to feel comfort. "But it doesn't mean I can change things...there are things you can never change, Emma. Even if you don't have me or your mother, you will always have Edward and Alphonse by your side."

"How did you stop wishing to change things, Father?" His daughter asked with such a heart-broken voice that Hohenheim felt his a small piece of him dying. He couldn't even stop himself from hugging her. It was hard for him to give comfort to his children, not when he knew he was a monster but just this once he wanted to offer the comfort, Emma, desperately.

"I thought of the good things that came from it," he answered truthfully. "I thought of you, your brothers and especially your mother and how if things hadn't happened, I wouldn't have had any of you."

Emma stared at him for a good few seconds before hugging him even tighter as if asking him to never let her go. This was why he wanted to end his long life of immortality, Hohenheim thought as he stroked his daughter's hair. He couldn't imagine living forever while being forced to watch his children and wife die. He did not want to bury them or be forced to explain to any grandchild of his, why he wasn't growing older.

He hoped he found a way to end his long life before Trisha and the children died.

* * *

 **Six months later**

"Where are you and Al going, Ed?" Emma asked when she heard the sound of two people tumbling down to the ground. Rubbing her eyes, the little girl sat up straight and stared at Edward and Alphonse, both of whom were yawning and rubbing their eyes as they stood up from the floor, before looking at the clock that said it was five o'clock in the morning. She felt her lips turned downwards when she felt her father's energy going further away from them alongside with their mother.

Where would her parents go so early in the morning? Running her hand through her golden hair, the blue-eyed girl fixed her eyes on her two brothers and wondered if they knew what was going on. No, her brother didn't know what was going on because Edward would have woken her up, demanding to know if she knew what was happening. Something must have come up during her father's research or one of the villagers had come to them for their father's help, either way, something was up.

" _I don't want them to become a monster like me."_

Those words had been haunting her mind for the past six months. Every single time Emma looked at her father, the little girl would bite her tongue to stop herself from asking her old man what he meant, not because she was afraid, but it was because she didn't want him to be sad. Instead, she would smile at her father, telling him about her time in school with Edward with the occasional input from her twin, who would exaggerate about the things happening in school. Like the tiny fight, she had gotten with one of her male classmates, who declared to her that she wasn't allowed to be smarter than him.

It had felt so good to punch him.

"Al wants to go to the bathroom," Edward explained to her.

Well if her brothers were already awake then it was better for her to get out of bed, Emma decided, kicking the bedsheets out of the way. Grabbing her hair tie from the bedside table, the blue-eyed girl followed her brother out of their room and went to the entrance of the doorway, where she knew her parents were. What was happening? She asked herself as she stood in the hallway, where her parents were too busy talking to each other to pay much notice to her.

"Don't tell them about me," her father said to her mother as he put on his jacket.

Her mother nodded her head before giving him a small frown. "You are not going to say goodbye to them?"

Father was leaving.

"Where is Father going? Why must he say goodbye to us?" Emma asked, drawing the attention of her parents towards her. Her mother blinked her eyes at the sight of her standing in front of her while her father turned his head away from her. If she was any other child, she would say Hohenheim was ignoring her but Emma was also Naruto Uzumaki and she could feel her father's emotion well.

She could feel the sadness radiating out of him.

"Emma, your father is going on an important trip," her mother said, clearing her throat.

 _Then why does it feel like I am never going to see him again?_ Emma asked herself as she stared at her father and then to her mother. She clenched her hands into a fist, noticing for the first time the small suitcase in her old man's hands and the sadness radiating in her mother's eyes. He was leaving them but why? Didn't he say to her just six months ago that their family was the best things in his life? What changed? Hadn't they been happy? She bit her lips to stop the tears threatening to flow out of her eyes.

"What is going on?" Edward asked, snapping her out of her thoughts. He stared at her and then to their parents while their little brother looked at everyone with sleepy eyes. "Why is Emmy sad?"

"I'm not sad, Ed! There is just something in my eye," Emma said, rubbing her eyes as she stared at her father, who looked at her brothers and then to her. "See, Ed! I'm fine. I am a big girl so there is nothing to worry about."

"Emma…"

"I'm fine, Ed," she insisted, keeping her eyes fixed on her father. She forced herself to smile, if not for her father's sake than for her brother's sake. "Look at me! There is no crying whatsoever. I'm not sad because a sad person wouldn't smile so which means I am happy."

Her mother stared at her, opened her mouth to say something but the little girl stared at her father. It might be a long time before she saw Hohenheim again, a long time before he sees them again and the last thing she wanted for the man, who had given her so much affection, was sadness. She might be upset he was leaving her but Emma was strong. She had been able to deal with the fact Sasuke had nearly killed her and dealt with people who gave her nothing but coldness. What was happening right now was nothing but a walk in the park for her.

Reminding herself of this fact, the little girl run towards her father and launched herself at him. Dropping his bag, Hohenheim caught her. Emma wrapped her arms around him, taking in his scent before looking straight into his golden eyes that were so much like her twin brother.

"I'm going to miss you, Father," she whispered to her father. "And you need to say goodbye to Ed and Al 'cause they won't understand what is happening. Ed and Al might think you are going to be back tomorrow while Mum and I know differently...you are not going to be back anytime soon, right?"

Hohenheim blinked his eyes, stared at her before nodding his head. "I'm not going to be back anytime soon, Emma which is why I expect you to help your mother out whenever Edward and Alphonse can't. Please do not try to climb anymore trees while I am gone."

Nodding her head, the blue-eyed girl watched as her father went to her two brothers and whispered something in their ears. She tilted her head when Edward flickered his eyes towards her and Alphonse before nodding his head at their father, who then began to speak to Alphonse. What did their father ask from Edward? And what was he saying to their youngest brother? He did know their brother probably would never remember this day, right? Hohenheim probably did know but maybe he thought in case they did recall this day that her siblings shouldn't get upset with the fact he had a talk with her.

"Bye."

Emma didn't know it at the time but she was right to think it would be a long time before her father came back, because it would be twelve years before she saw her father again.

* * *

 **A/N: Please review and tell me what you think about this chapter, especially between the relationships between the characters**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: I would like to thank everyone who reviewed the last chapter as well as everyone who added this story to their favorites and follows.**

* * *

It had been a year since Hohenheim left them and not once did her father write a letter to them, telling them where he was going. Emma was fine with not knowing where he was going but it wasn't the same for the other members of her family. Edward and Alphonse started to run to the door after one week of their father's disappearance while her mother pretended to be strong, only crying when she thought no one could hear her. The research her father was doing had to be worth it because what could make him leave them for so long.

Shaking her head, the blue-eyed girl stared down at the basket of apples she had brought for their family to eat. Why should she concern herself about Hohenheim? It was her siblings and mother she had to care for. With their father gone, it was her job to make sure everything was fine. She had to be the strong one for their broken family because of the two sets of memories she had.

Taking a deep breath, the four-year-old went on her tiptoes and placed the basket of apples on the table before heading towards her father's study, where she knew Edward and Alphonse would be. Those two brothers of her had made it their life goal to read Hohenheim's journal, no doubt hoping to see the allure of Alchemy had on their father. She joined them in their research though she only did it after she finished helping Trisha with the housework.

"Emmy! Sit beside me!" Emma grinned at the sight of her nearly three-year-old brother smiling at her as he waved for her to take a seat beside him. Her twin brother just looked up from the book he was reading and grinned at her. Smiling widely, the little girl picked up the book Alphonse had finished to read while she had been doing housework. Flipping the book open, she began to skim read through the topics presented in the journal.

" _ **Now that I think about it, there are a lot of similarities between Alchemy and sealing isn't there?"**_ Kurama asked her as she read about the Law of Natural Providence. The blond-haired girl thinned her lips at the question but did not immediately answer the question, instead choosing to continue to read the details of the laws. A transmutation circle was needed for things to be done, Emma summarized as she furrowed her eyebrows together. This wasn't the same for sealing where it was not necessary for her to draw any circles or symbols nor would she be able to create things from the matter around them.

No, sealing for her had been always to store things, cause explosions and so many other things. She had used it to win a war but not once did Naruto Uzumaki thought of the potential of building things. The blue-eyed girl grimaced as she realized the truly helpful seal she ever made was the anti-rape seal, which if Emma thought about it, could be useful in this place. Perhaps if she made the seal again and sold it, as someone else, then they could get more money.

Hmm, maybe she should also consider the idea of putting seals on her clones which would connect her to them and allow them to absorb a little bit of her chakra to make them even more study. Of course, this experimenting would have to take place when her family was dead asleep.

" _There is also a lot of differences between them,"_ Emma finally answered, flipping to the next page. " _Alchemy is something that requires logic and has its limits while sealing does not. I could not, for example, use Alchemy to prevent rape during the act but I could use sealing to do it. Alchemy will not be able to be used as storage while sealing can. Alchemy cannot summon the Shinigami while Sealing can...out of the two, which one is more dangerous for me to use."_

" _ **It would be sealing, however, you are still learning about Alchemy because you want to see if any of the principals could be applied to your use of seals,"**_ Kurama stated.

" _The best thing I think would work was if I use a storage seal alongside the alchemy transmutation circle,"_ Emma mused, picking up the piece of chalk that her brother had dropped. She ignored Edward and Alphonse's curious looks, instead choosing to draw the transmutation circle alongside with one of the seals she created in her previous life. " _Of course, there is no guarantee I could use the alchemy transmutation circle to manipulate the water and then unleash it another area. It would require a bit of experimenting."_

"Emmy, what are you writing?" Edward asked, staring at the letters she had written on the ground beside the transmutation circle she made. "It doesn't look like the letters we were taught in school and why did you put it beside the transmutation circle you made?"

"It is my new code language which is why you can't understand what I wrote," Emma answered, looking at the storage seal she made on the ground. She licked her dried lips and traced the letters she wrote. "And I put it beside the transmutation circle to see if it will make sense to me...it doesn't really change anything."

"Can we learn your code language?" Alphonse asked, looking at her with those big golden eyes that he knew was hard for her to resist. She bit her lips and debated on whether or not to actually those two little brothers of her, the language she had grown up learning in her first life. There was no need for them to know the language but it might become useful in the future. There was no telling what was going to happen in the future but it was better to be prepared than sorry.

"I will teach you guys," Emma answered, running her hand through her hair. "You see the letter I wrote, it means to store."

"Why would you write the letter store?" Her twin asked, furrowing his eyebrows at her. "It has nothing to do with the transmutation circle you drew and if you add it to the circle then it can cause an imbalance in the property. It won't work."

"I guessed that would happen which is why I said it doesn't change a thing," Emma answered, erasing the character away. She stared at the transmutation circle and thinned her lips, wondering if it was possible to combine the transmutation symbols along with the sealing characters. If those two could combine, what would be the result? Storing would be impossible but if she could make it in a way which made attacking easier than it would be awesome.

"Emma, Edward, Alphonse! How many times have I told you not to mess with your father's study?" Their mother asked, drawing their attention away from the floor. "Do the three of you truly enjoy reading his journals?"

 _Well, it was definitely more interesting than the things I am being forced to learn again,_ Emma grumbled to herself as her brother ignored their mother's question and begin to draw his own transmutation circle. Hell if this had existed in Konoha then Emma had no doubt she would have done everything in her power to master it. In fact, she would have her clones study it when everyone else was asleep but their mother locked the study up at night; probably knowing that they would sneak in to read the journals.

"Hey! Don't do that Ed! You can't just draw anywhere!" Her mother cried, rubbing the side of her head. "I have already cleaned the drawing Emmy did on the living room floor."

Why did her mother clean the barrier seal she created? God damn it, Emma knew she should have used her blood to make the seal but she hadn't entertained the idea of her mother cleaning it up. Right, next time if she was going to make a seal then it better be in a place where her mother couldn't find it. It was her job to protect their family now that Father wasn't here to do his job.

"The three of you are going to get scolded by your father when he returns back from his trip," her mother informed them, putting down the basket of clothes on the floor. Trisha knelt down and looked at the transmutation circle Edward made.

"We're not messing around," Edward declared, pointing to the transmutation circle he made. "Look!"

Emma watched as a small part of their father's wooden floor was transformed into a tiny bird. In the past, the people of Konoha might have tried to explain it by saying it was due to chakra or by suggesting it was magic but the little girl now knew better. There were certain things which could not be done by chakra or the very least without having a Kekkai Genkai, which allowed them to manipulate the nature around them. The usage of Chakra did not need any knowledge of science while Alchemy demands it.

"This is alchemy," their mother stated, looking at the bird with wonder. "Did your father teach you three?"

"How could he teach us when he was always busy studying?" Emma asked her mother before her brother could say some rude comment about their father decision to leave them. Shaking her head, the little girl grinned and placed her hands on top of her two brothers. "We learned it from the books Father left here."

"The three of you could understand these difficult texts?"

"A little bit," The three of them answered in unison.

Trisha started at them for a good couple of seconds before letting out a sigh. "If the other alchemist finds out about what the three of you did then it will make a mockery of their efforts."

 _Would you say the same thing if my body match my mental age?_ Emma couldn't help but asked herself as Edward asked their mother if the three of them did something wrong. A four-year-old shouldn't understand these complicated texts but she was a twenty-one-year-old woman stuck in a four-year-old body. She was not truly a genius. The real geniuses in their family were her twin brother and Alphonse. She was just lucky to have them explain the parts she didn't understand.

"You three are truly your father's children," Trisha said, wrapping her arms around them. "Mom is proud of the three of you."

Would her mother still say those words if she knew the truth about her? Emma couldn't help but wonder as she basked in the warmth Trisha gave her.

This was a question she knew would always haunt her mind.

* * *

Emma clutched her mother's hand as the two of them walked to the grocery store to get their usual grocery supply while her brothers spend time with Winry and her grandmother. It was mother and daughter bonding time or so Trisha would tell her whenever she whined about going to the grocery store. There was just something about the way the owners looked at them that just made her feel uneasy, made her want to snap at them for giving her such looks.

She grimaced and stopped walking once she spotted a man with dark hair and black piercing eyes staring at her and her mother. The little girl tilted her head, wondering why a soldier from the army was here. Was there going to be a war happening soon? Or was the man here for a short tour before going his merry way? Either way, Emma wanted to know why this man was here. This small town rarely had people visiting them and the ones that did visit were either relatives or some weirdo.

Hmm, the man might be a weirdo.

"What are you looking at, Emmy?" Her mother asked, drawing her attention away from the soldier. "It must be something interesting for you to stop paying attention to your surroundings and stay still. Hmm, should I guess what you are looking at, Princess?"

The blue-eyed girl tore her eyes away from the dark-haired man and stared at her mother's shining turquoise eyes. Nodding her head, Emma watched as her mother tapped the side of her chin and looked around the area to find the source of her interest. This was a game they played, a game that belonged only to her and her mother. This was the game Trisha would always play whenever she didn't pay much attention to her mother's words.

It was a lot better than getting scolded by her.

"Hmm, are you looking at one of your classmates?" Her mother asked, subtly pointing to the male classmate that kept glancing at her. The blond-haired girl laughed and shook her head, earning a pout from the young woman. Why would she look at her classmate who wasn't interesting? Why didn't her mother think she was looking at the soldier, who was now starting to head in the direction of the train station. She tilted her head and stared at the man, who was being approached by a smiling man in the same kind of uniform.

"Your father will be upset if he sees that you are already interested in boys," Trisha said, snapping her out of her thoughts. Emma blinked her eyes and tilted her head at the older woman who stared at the raven-haired soldier, who was busy arguing with his friend and then gave her an amused smile. Why would she presume she had an interest in the soldier? Emma had no idea who the male was nor did she have any desire to know him personally. No, what interested her was the fact there was a soldier here.

"Silly Mother, why would I like him? Boys are icky," Emma stated, using the same excuse that she would make as Naruto Uzumaki when she had been bullied by her female classmates, who presumed she was in love with Sasuke. "Father has nothing to fear. It will be a long time before I find a man that I like."

" _ **I hope it is never,"**_ Kurama commented and the blond-haired girl couldn't stop herself from mentally raising her eyebrows at the fox. The thousand-year-old fox snorted. " _ **You do realize if you are ever going to be in a relationship then I will be forced to share my space with any future brat you have and see you do the deed."**_

" _Figure out a way not to see it,"_ Emma stated, smiling at her mother who had a strange far away look on her face. She rather not have to deal with having to know the fox was watching her every single move. In fact, the blonde may just try to develop a seal inside her mind which could prevent the damn fox from seeing something it shouldn't see. Honestly she rather not deal with him making any comments about the man she might potentially date.

"I hope the man will be a decent man to you that would give you all the respect you deserve," her mother said cheerfully, running her hand through her long hair. "Though I really do pity the poor boy who will try to have a relationship with you; your brothers and father will try to kill him."

"Mother, why are you talking about something that isn't going to happen anytime soon?"

The young woman just smiled and ruffled her hair but Emma didn't miss the wave of sadness and pain radiating from her. Was something wrong? Why was she acting so sad about the future? And why was her mother talking like she would never see the man who will marry her? No, she was just imagining things. Everything was fine. No, everything will be fine. Their family still needed to get used to the idea of not having their father around.

"Mommy is just being silly," Mother said, ruffling her hair. "Now what are we buying today?"

"Milk, tomato, corn, pasta, apples, cabbage," Emma listed before pulling out the list of groceries her mother had forced her to write for them. The little girl handed the list to the brown-haired woman, who smiled at her. There was definitely something bothering her mother, the blue-eyed girl thought, noticing the slight tremor in the woman's hands and how her mother had forgotten to ask her to give her the list. What was wrong though she couldn't figure out. It couldn't be sadness due to the lack of letters because her mother would never do it in front of them.

She thinned her lips and stared at the brown-haired woman. "Mother, is everything alright? It isn't like you to forget the grocery list."

Trisha laughed and smiled reassuring at her but Emma was not fooled one bit. It was their father who forgot the small things, always needing their mother to remind him of the important dates in the year. Forgetting a grocery list might be a minor thing but Emma had lived through a war. She knew even the smallest clue could be of help and her gut instincts were telling her that the forgetfulness and the tremor weren't things she should ignore.

"I'm fine, Emma," Trisha answered, snapping her out of her train of thoughts. "Mommy just had a few things on her mind."

 _Liar,_ a voice in her mind whispered as they entered the grocery store. If things were truly fine like her beautiful mother claimed then why did the woman feel guilty when she was saying those words to her. Why had her mother talked in a tone, which suggested that she would never ever see her get married? She clenched her hands into a fist. Should she tell Edward and Alphonse about her concerns? No, she couldn't confirm anything.

"Emma, everything will be fine," her mother said, kneeling down to look at her. "I know things hadn't been easy since your father left but as long as we have each other then things will be fine."

It wasn't true but for Trisha's sake, Emma would accept her mother's lies and pretend everything would be fine.

* * *

" _ **Since when were you interested in medical books?"**_ Kurama questioned her as she scanned through the medical journals that she borrowed from Winry's parents, who had been more than happy to lend it to her. The little girl didn't answer the question immediately, instead choosing to put the lamp closer to the book. Her friend was right to wonder about her sudden interest in medicine but Emma couldn't ignore the subtle changes in her mother's daily routine or the slight changes in the young woman's chakra. Something was happening to her mother but she didn't know what it could be.

" _Kurama, is there an easier way to narrow down what illness my mother has?"_ Emma asked him as she circled the common symptoms her mother had in the illnesses. There were probably four or five diseases the brown-haired woman might have and none of them looked curable. She undid her hair tie and traced the letters, which were haunting her. She could be wrong about the five diseases. For all she knew, her second mother was fine and everything would be alright for them.

" _ **Medicine has never been my specialty; if you wish to know about fire and wind jutsu then come to me but never ask me about medicine,"**_ The fox grumbled as she flipped to the next page. " _ **Matabi always had more interest in this kind of things. She would ask the Sage all kind of questions about medicine."**_

" _If only I know where Matabi is,"_ Emma muttered to herself. " _Hey, is it possible for Matabi to heal any illness? I know it will be impossible for me to heal mother since the Sage took away his gift after I finished doing what I had to do."_

" _ **Matabi may have an interest in medicine but it doesn't mean she can heal your mother,"**_ Kurama said sharply. " _ **None of us were given abilities which would allow us to heal people outside of our hosts. If this had been possible then your mother would have tried her hardest to heal Mito from her sickness. You should learn to accept the fact your mother is not going to get better soon."**_

" _It isn't confirmed,"_ Emma reminded him as she flipped to the next page. " _My mother might have something else. She might have a curable disease that Winry's parents could heal. She might get better and I won't have to tell my brothers that our mother is sick with an incurable disease."_

Kurama didn't say a word to contradict her words, which wasn't much of a surprise to the little girl. The tailed beast inside of her might be cruel, sarcastic too and even annoying at times but he knew better than to ruin her feelings about her mother's situation. She would not accept the words 'she wouldn't get better' until her mother or the doctors tell her those words. Just the mere idea of losing her second mother figure was enough for her heart to break into tiny pieces.

"Emma, why are you still awake? It's an hour passed your bedtime." Emma looked away from the medical books and stared at Trisha, who was rubbing her eyes and yawning like there was no tomorrow. The blond-haired girl didn't answer the question instead choosing to look at the textbook in her hands. What was she going to say to her mother? How could she tell her she was trying to figure out what kind of illness her mother had? There was no way the young woman was going to be happy with the fact she had been researching on this kind of things.

"I was reading," Emma finally answered, putting the medical textbook behind her back.

Her mother arched her thin eyebrows at her, telling her she wanted more details than just that. The little girl just smiled and shrugged her shoulder, standing up to leave but to be stopped by Trisha, who snatched the book from behind her. The brown-haired woman flipped open the book, eyes widening as she realized what Emma had been reading for the past couple of hours.

"Why are you reading medical books, Emma?" Her mother asked softly, placing the book on the coffee table. Emma opened her mouth but Trisha just shook her head. "Sweetheart, if I know you are truly interested in medicine then I would never ask you but I know you hate medicine, so tell me the truth: why are you reading this book? Why have you highlighted symptoms of diseases?"

"Because you haven't been acting like yourself," Emma admitted, staring down at her small hands. "Edward and Alphonse hadn't noticed you have been acting weird but I notice, Mother. I heard you coughing and complaining to Winry's parents about the headaches as well as the vomiting. I can't ignore it, Mother! I can't pretend everything is fine or believe you like Edward and Alphonse can. I just can't do it."

Hohenheim had already left them while their mother had a sickness which could not be cured. She was beginning to experience the pain Sasuke had gone through when he lost his whole clan except there was a difference between the two situations. Her best friend would always have someone to blame for what was happening while Emma had no one to blame. She couldn't even blame her father because she knew it wasn't his fault. She clenched her hands into a fist and wondered why it was so hard for her to accept the fact her mother was sick? This was life.

Death wasn't all that scary so why was she so scared to admit to herself that her mother was sick.

"I always knew you were going to be the one to figure it out," her mother said softly, wrapping her arms around her. "When you asked me a few weeks ago if everything was alright, I realized right then that nothing will escape your eyes. Your father was also quite capable of noticing the smallest of details just like you," Trisha sighed. "I knew I should have started telling you about my sickness but I just wanted you to be happy. All I ever wanted was for you to be happy."

But how she be happy when she knew her mother was sick? How could she pretend everything was fine when Emma knew her baby brothers were going to suffer from this? She looked down at her shaking hands, which had once taken so many lives. Why couldn't she be like Sakura? Why hadn't she taken her studies seriously and master her chakra control? If she had done it then maybe she would have learned medicinal ninjutsu, which she could have used to heal her mother.

Why was she so useless?

"Emma, it isn't your fault," her mother whispered, placing her head on top of her. "I know you think it is your job to make sure everything runs smoothly but you are still four. You can't do everything and you can't fix everything. Just because I'm not feeling well, doesn't mean it is your fault."

 _I know it isn't my fault,_ Emma thought to herself as she hugged her mother tighter, _but it doesn't mean I accepted it._ This woman holding her gave her the love she longed for in her previous life. This was someone who made her feel warmth, who reminded her it was okay to be different. Her second mother was the one who kissed her bruises away, who told her and her brother's stories but most of all there was someone who loved her unconditionally. How could she accept the fact she wasn't well? She felt her throat clogged up as the memories of the cold, lonely nights in Konoha flow through her mind.

"It isn't fair, Mother. It just isn't fair!" Emma croaked. "I can figure out Alchemy, can do the most difficult math equations and can lift a table without any problems but I can't heal you. What good am I if I can't help you, Mother? I can't get a job because of my age. I can't stay at home to take care of you because the law states I've to be in school and because Ed and Al don't know the truth. What help am I going to be? I am useless."

Humming a small tune, Trisha run her long fingers through Emma's golden hair. "Useless? I don't want you to ever think that you are useless! Do you know how proud I am of you and your brothers? How many mothers can claim they have kids, who learned alchemy from their father's books? Not many that is for sure! And who says you are not helping me? Just being in your presence, hearing the stories you tell me about your school day and knowing you are making sure your brothers don't do anything reckless helps me."

"But I can't heal you," Emma sobbed, clutching her mother's shirt tighter. "I can't heal you. I want to be able to heal you but I don't know anything which can help. Aren't you angry this is happening to you? Aren't you upset that you won't be able to see Ed, Al and me grow up?"

The sadness and pain radiating from her mother were enough to tell the little girl that Trisha wasn't really accepting the situation they were in. Why must good people always suffer? Why must they die young? Why did Truth allow her to be reborn to this family? He was so cruel to do this to her and her brothers. By letting her be reborn, he gave her the chance to experience all the things she missed but he wanted to remind her just how painful life was, by taking away the few things she loved from her. Now it was her mother but who would it be next time? Edward? Alphonse? Hohenheim? Pinako? Winry? Just how many more people would he take from her?

"If there is one lesson I want you to learn Emma, it is the fact you can't get angry over something you can't control," her mother said with a tone filled with so much sadness that Emma was tempted to cry again. "My sickness is no one's fault. I wish I will see the three of you grow up to be the wonderful adults I know you three will become but I can't blame anyone. Instead, all I want is to spend the rest of my days filled with happiness. I want to see you and your brothers smile."

"But they won't be able to smile…" Emma trailed and began to tremble as she realized what Trisha was asking her to do. "You want me to keep it a secret, don't you? You don't want Edward and Alphonse to know you are sick. Mother, it is going to kill them once they figure out the truth."

"Emma, I know I am asking a lot from you but for their sake and my sake, can you please not tell them? I want the three of you to have happy memories," her mother stared out at the night sky. "Please, Emma, do not tell your brothers I'm dying. I have a year left with the three of you...let's make the year count."

She wanted to tell her mother that she was being selfish but Emma knew in her heart her mother was right. Telling Edward and Alphonse about Mother's illness was going to cause them to cry their hearts out. Her two brothers didn't have the abilities to pretend they were fine. They couldn't lie to themselves and pretend to be happy; they didn't have her experience. If Trisha was truly dying then Emma wanted her mother's final year to be ones filled with happiness.

"Okay," Emma whispered, biting her lips to stop the tears threatening to come out.

"My sweet girl, it is okay for you to cry your heart out," her mother declared, hugging her tightly. Emma gulped, opened her mouth to reassure the woman that she wasn't going to cry, but only to find her eyes were already burning. "My sweet Emma, it is okay to show me your sadness. It is okay for you to show your brothers and me that you are upset. You have been trying to be so strong for the past year but it is okay for you to unleash it."

For the first time since her father left, Emma allowed herself to cry the river of tears she had been forced to hold back. The tears falling out of her eyes weren't just sadness for the potential loss of her mother but for the people she lost. She cried for the friends she lost. She sobbed for the good men and women who sacrificed their lives to save this world. She wept about how unfair life was for giving her a mother and then taking it away from her too soon.

But once the tears dried out, the blond-haired girl looked at her teary-eyed mother and made a vow to protect her brothers with all the power and knowledge she had.

* * *

 **A/N: Please review and tell me what you think about this chapter as well as who you think Emma should be with.**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: I would like to thank everyone that reviewed the last chapter and added this story to their favorites and follows. This will be the last chapter for the week since I will be going on a small holiday for the next few days.**

* * *

Emma stared at the breakfast she made for her family before glancing out at the window, where she could see birds chirping and building their nests. In a couple of minutes, her mother would come down the stairs with a bright smile on her face and thank her for making them breakfast. After that, the two of them would wait for her brothers to charge downstairs with smiles on their face. Smiles, Emma knew she would do everything in her power to protect. Lying about their mother's health was the only way to ensure they would continue giving their mother, the happiest memories that she had.

Happiness.

Would their family still be happy when Trisha die? Could she say her brothers could fully move on when their mother leaves this world? She had months to accept their mother's fate while Edward and Alphonse weren't noticing what was going on with their mother. It would be a matter of days, maybe weeks before their mother closed her eyes for the final time. Even now, Emma could hear the slowness in her mother's movements; a sign the disease was still taking its toll on her. Yes, it would be a matter of days or weeks before her beloved mother would be gone from them.

"Good morning!" Trisha greeted, walking towards her. "What did you make this time, Emma?"

"Poached eggs with spinach and some peach porridge," Emma answered. She twisted her lips into a frown when her mother picked up the plate of poached eggs. "And Mother please don't pick up the plate! I was just going to set the table; you should get some rest."

"Emma…"

"Edward and Alphonse will wake up soon," The little girl reminded her mother as she snatched the plate from her mother. Placing the plate on the table, the blonde returned back to the kitchen table and started to bring the pot of porridge to the table, where she already placed the plates and glasses. "If I let you do the table then it might take a long time before things get set up, which means Edward and Alphonse might realize something is up. We can't have them realizing I have been the one making breakfast for the past few months."

Her mother smiled at those words but the little girl knew from her mother's eyes, she wasn't happy with what was happening to them. No doubt, Trisha was blaming herself for making Emma do all the housework and forcing her to grow up. If the blonde didn't know her mother would never believe her, she would have told her that it was only her physical body which didn't match her mind and experience. She could tell her loving mother that in her previous life, she had no one to do these things for her. It would be easier to tell her mother about how she was used to it, about the days where she was forced to fend for herself.

Of course, she could never tell her mother these things.

"Good morning, Emmy! Mom!" Emma blinked her eyes and turned her head to look at her smiling twin brother and younger brother. She forced herself to give a big smile to her two brothers, who took their usual seats beside her. These were her two innocent brothers. These were the people she would be willing to give her life for. For their sake, she must keep her mouth shut and endure the burden placed on her by her mother. "Hey Emmy, do you wanna show Mom what we learned from Father's books!"

Emma looked into Alphonse's golden eyes and then to Edward, who froze at the mention of the word 'Father'. Why did her twin resent their father so much? Did he not understand how lucky they had been to know him for a few short years? Hohenheim might not get the father of the year but he was a hell lot better than some of the fathers, Emma had seen in her previous life. At least he hadn't sent assassins after them or sealed a monster inside of them.

" _ **I resent that,"**_ Kurama said, snapping her out of her train of thought. " _ **Minato sealed a powerful monster inside of you."**_

" _I will agree about that but he sealed a monster that is secretly a furball,"_ Emma said, quirking her lips into a smile. She ignored the Kyuubi's yells about not being soft. Instead, the young girl turned her attention to her youngest brother, who stared at her with so much hope that it killed her. Grinning, the blonde nodded her head and drew the transmutation circle with Alphonse. Clapping her hands together, the blue-eyed girl watched as a wooden apple blossom was made.

The blonde handed it to her mother while her little brother made a boat. Emma glanced at Edward, who now had a smile on his face as he made a transmutation circle. This was their tradition, a tradition which brought both happiness and sadness to Trisha. Everything they did remind her of their father or so the little girl would like to think. She didn't have the proof but the light in her mother's eyes, when they did transmutation, was the same light she had whenever Emma asked about their father.

"I made the best one!" Edward declared, pointing to his angel. "Tell them I made the best present!"

Their mother glanced at the three gifts they made for her, smiled brightly at them before picking up the three gifts they made for her. There was no mistaking the joy radiating from Trisha's bright eyes as she fingered each of their gifts with her eyes lingering the most on her gift. What was she remembering? Was she recalling the days before their birth? The days where she had been so happy with their father. The days where she was healthy enough to chase after them because this was what Emma couldn't help but remember when she looked at the gifts.

"All three of you made good presents," her mother declared. "And I just can't decide which one is the best...so it is a draw!"

"But you always say it is a draw!" Edward pointed out to their mother with his arms folded against his chest. Despite saying those words, the little blond-haired boy still had a smile on his face, telling everyone that he truly didn't mind their mother's decision. Emma and Alphonse grinned at their brother and mother before stuffing themselves with the food that the blond-haired girl had made for them.

Shaking her head, the little girl stuffed her mouth with the poach eggs she made before looking at her mother, who was taking her time to eat the food Emma made. The slowness of the movement, the way she was forcing herself to eat and the paleness in Trisha's face was enough to tell her that this wasn't one of her good days. On her mother's good days, she would be faster in eating her food and would have a good appetite. No, today had to be the bad day.

"Emmy!" Edward hissed, snapping her out of her train of thoughts.

"What?" Emma asked, not bothering to look at her twin brother. "Is it time for us to go to school?"

"No, I need you to drink my milk before Mother notices I didn't drink it."

Rolling her eyes, the blonde snatched the bottle of milk from her brother's hands and gulped it down. How the hell did her brother expect to grow taller if he made her drink his milk? Also, did he not realize there was milk in the porridge he loved to eat? No, of course not. Edward probably wouldn't realize what was put into the porridge unless their mother or her tell him, which wasn't going to happen anytime soon. Really for being a genius, he could be quite the idiot at times.

Wiping the milk off her lips, Emma glanced at Alphonse who giggled and laughed while Edward shot her a grateful look. Of course, her baby brother would laugh at the fact she was drinking all of their brother's milk. After all, he wasn't the one who had to deal with her twin brother pouting at her or hear their mother scold the two of them when she found out who was actually drinking the milk.

Then again, Emma wouldn't trade this life for anything in the world. Their mother may be dying but she knew the fact they would have each other to rely through the hard times, which was soon approaching them. It would not be easy for them but they could endure through this.

A shinobi must always endure and while Emma may not carry Konoha's headband, she was still a shinobi and she would endure like she had always been able to.

* * *

"What do you think Mother is going to make for lunch today?" Edward asked Emma and Alphonse as the three of them picked the apples from the lowest branches of trees. His brother tilted his head and pondered over his question while his little sister rubbed the back of her neck, looking put out with his question before giving him a smile. The blond-haired boy frowned but never made a comment about his sister's behavior. It wasn't like his twin was going to tell him what was wrong with what he just said because Emma never tells him anything.

Instead of telling him how she feels like he did with her, his sister would just force herself to smile at him before pretending to act like nothing was wrong. It was a habit she had for as long as he could remember; a habit he hated because his sister would never tell him anything. One time, he asked her why was she calling out a strange name like Sasuke or Neji and another time he begged her to tell him why she was crying. Both times, his twin refused to answer his question instead deciding to smile at him before giving him a hug.

Now, he wondered what was causing her to be sad.

"She might be making her famous roast duck," her sister finally answered with the fake smile he hated so much. "Or maybe she might be making a tart!"

"It has been a long time since Mother made a tart for us," Alphonse said, smiling at the mere thought of their mother's tart. Edward nodded his head in agreement before glancing at Emma, who had a small smile on her face. This smile was the real one, he thought to himself, as the three of them walked to the back door. Yet, the smile on his sister's face while real; felt sad for some strange reason. He couldn't understand what was making his baby sister sad but he knew he hated it.

If there was one thing he hated, it was to see his siblings and mother sad.

"I hope it is duck," Emma said, looking up at the clear blue sky. "Mother's duck is the best."

The tone in her voice was filled with sadness as if she didn't think they would eat it again. Why would Emma believe this? Why would she be sad? Was there something they didn't know? No, Emmy might keep secrets but she would never hide a secret which concerned their mother. It just wasn't like his sister to hide something this important from them. No, it had to be something else. It had to be something else or why else would she be like this.

Yes, it had to be something else.

Nodding his head, Edward pushed the door opened and felt his whole body freeze at the sight in front of him. His sweet mother was lying on the floor, green peppers and apples lying all over her. What do they do? What was going on? Why wasn't their mother standing up? He glanced at Alphonse, who stood there with a pale face, and then to Emma, who had a blank expression on her face.

"Edward, take Mother to the living room!" His sister barked. "I'm going to get Aunt Sarah!"

"Mum just fainted," Edward croaked, freezing his sister on the spot while Alphonse rushed towards their mother. He knew he should do what his twin was telling him to do but he just couldn't stop himself from repeating the words. "Emmy, Mummy just fainted."

His sister turned her head around and for the first time in a year, Edward saw tears flowing out of his sister's blue eyes and the forced smile on her face. Stupid. This was what immediately came to his mind as his sister gulped down, wiped the tears off of her face and stared at him. Why was she trying to smile when she was sad? If she was trying to show she was strong then she was doing a terrible job. No, he thought, they were all being stupid since they couldn't handle this. They couldn't be strong in a situation like this.

Their mother had fainted without any reason.

"Everything will be fine," his sister said but Edward didn't know if she was trying to reassure herself or him and Alphonse. "I will get Aunt Sarah and Uncle Yurivy and everything will be fine. Everything will be okay. We can endure this...I can handle this. Mother will make it. Everything will be okay...we will be okay."

" _Edward, it is your job to take care of the family while I am away; do not make your sister handle everything. Emma may try to do everything but remind her that you are the older sibling and that you will take care of the family with her. Remind your sister, it is okay to rely on you. Remember Edward, it is your job as the big brother to protect your younger siblings even if one of them tries to act older than they really are. Until I am done with my research, it is your duty to protect them."_

He hated his father for many reasons, for leaving them without a letter, for making their mother sad but most of all for abandoning them, but Edward would not deny his father was right. It should not be his baby sister pretending to be strong and giving them orders. Emma was the younger twin. She was supposed to be crying like Al, not trying to reassure them. He glanced at his trembling hands and then to his sister, who sniffed and wiped the tears off of her cheeks before rushing out of the door.

He was a failure as a big brother.

Slapping his cheeks, Edward grabbed hold of one hand of his mother while Alphonse took the other shoulder before beginning the long haul to the living room. The heaviness of their mothers along with the memory of Emma's tears reminded him, this wasn't a joke.

"Brother, why did Mum faint?" Alphonse asked once they placed their mother on the sofa.

"I don't know," Edward answered, staring at their mother's face. "I don't know anything."

Was Mother going to be okay? Could Uncle Yuriy and Aunt Sarah fix this? He curled himself into a tiny ball and stared at the first and last family photo that their family took together. This wasn't fair. If anything happened to their mother then who was going to take care of them? His twin sister could do a lot of things but even he knew better than to expect her to take care of them. They were just five years old, after all. They weren't adults.

They weren't ready for this.

* * *

Emma stared at her two brothers, who had cried themselves to sleep, and then out at the window, where she could see the clear night sky. It had taken Aunt Sarah a long time to explain to her two brothers that their mother was dying from an incurable disease, which might have or might not have come from the recent plague. Alphonse started to cry his heart out at this news while her twin tried his hardest not to cry, only to cry once the doctors had left them alone with their awake mother.

Their mother just gave them a smile and told them about the money their father left them, ordering them to live well if anything happens to her. She made them promise to keep on smiling and being their usual selves even though she was sick. Her mother especially looked at her two brothers, who had been sobbing their heart out.

Emma couldn't keep her promise to her mother about making sure her two brothers kept on smiling. She couldn't even stop herself from crying like a baby when she saw Trisha had fainted. It had taken her a lot of willpower to not stay in the house and cry alongside her two brothers but the memory of her beautiful's mother wishes was enough for her to run. She gulped when she remembered how her Aunt Sarah and Uncle Yurivy had to tell them in quiet voices that their mother was very sick.

" _ **Why are you still upset, Naruto? You have known for a year now that your mother has been sick,"**_ Kurama reminded her as she slid out of her room and made her way to her mother's bedroom. Emma faltered at the reminder. " _ **You had a year to get used to it; this isn't like the time with the Hyuuga boy, where you weren't expecting him to die."**_

" _The difference is the fact she is my mother and I still can't imagine a day without her,"_ Emma replied, opening her mother's bedroom door. She slipped inside the room and slowly closed the door, being careful as to not wake her sick mother or her two sleeping brothers. " _You know Sasuke will tell me I didn't understand a damn thing...well now I understand."_

" _ **Naruto…"**_

" _I promise my mother to smile and act like everything is fine but I can't do it,"_ Emma admitted, taking a seat beside her mother. " _I want to tell her everything before she dies. I want her to know who her daughter really is because I don't want her to die without knowing the truth. It might kill her but I can't keep pretending...I can't let her believe I am really like Hohenheim and my brothers. I want her to know that Emma Elric is also Naruto Uzumaki."_

" _ **You're taking a big risk, Naruto."**_

" _I need someone to know who I really am."_

With those final words, Emma stared at her mother, who had been looking at the night sky with a thoughtful look on her face. So how was she going to spill the words to Trisha? _Hey, you know how I am five years old? Well, I'm actually a twenty-two-year-old woman stuck in the body of a five-year-old,_ Emma shook her head at this thought. The second one wasn't completely true. She was still Emma Elric but there were parts of her, which was still Naruto Uzumaki. There were parts of her personality which belonged exclusively to Emma and not to Naruto.

"Shouldn't you be in bed, Emma?" Her mother asked, looking away from the window and turning to look at her. "It's past your bedtime, sweetheart."

"I have something to tell you, Mother," Emma answered, earning a raised eyebrow at her mother. "It is something I should have told Father and you when it started but I didn't want you guys to look at me differently. I didn't want you to look at me and think that I am a freak for the things I am about to tell. I didn't want you to feel hurt or blame me for what I am about to tell you."

"Emma…"

"My name hasn't always been Emma Elric, Mother," her mother opened her mouth to argue with her but the blond-haired girl shook her head. "Once upon a time...I think around five or six hundred years ago, my name had once been Naruto Uzumaki. I know it is hard to believe but Mother, this is my second life. I am sure if you go to the countries near Xing that you would hear my name because apparently I am a legend, or I would like to think I am since I was pretty badass. Wait, this isn't the point. My point is the fact that I am not completely your daughter and if you don't think of me as your daughter because of this then I can understand."

Trisha stared at her, thinned her lips and opened her mouth to say something but no words were coming out of her mouth. It was good her mother wasn't arguing with her because Emma needed the quiet to think about what she had to say next. No, she wanted to unleash everything to her mother without being stopped. She didn't want her mother to try to reason with her when something was completely and utterly true. No matter how much her mother wanted to argue she wasn't Naruto Uzumaki, Emma was still her.

Her nightmares were always memories of a war longed passed.

"Naruto Uzumaki?" her mother finally said, staring at her hands. "Isn't that a strange name to give to a girl? It doesn't sound very feminine."

Emma blinked her eyes. "You believe me?"

"The fact you were writing in a different language when you weren't being taught said language in school and having no one to teach you, gave me a big hint on how different you were," Emma laughed at this while her mother stared at her. "I believe you because you don't act your age, Emma. I believe you because I heard you crying out names. I believe you because I caught you crying and apologizing to people with strange names when you thought no one could hear you. I believe you because if someone like your father exists then so can someone like you. I don't know what your previous life is like Emma but to me, you are always going to be my daughter. You could be Naruto Uzumaki or Emma Elric but it doesn't change the fact I gave birth to you."

"Mother…" She didn't know what to say to her mother. A small part of her wanted to yell at her for being so kind while a large part of her just wanted to cry her heart out for not being treated differently, for still being considered her daughter. Of course, she didn't do this. Instead, she just wrapped her arms around her mother, who hugged her back.

"Is it because you have once been Naruto Uzumaki that you have been acting like the adult for your siblings," her mother whispered, running her hands through her long hair. "Is it why you agreed to my wish without throwing a tantrum? Is it why you have been understanding to your father?"

"Edward doesn't know what it is like to never have seen your parents' face," Emma answered, hiccuping. Trisha stared at her with wide eyes and the blond-haired girl gazed at the photo of her two smiling parents. "When I was Naruto Uzumaki, I didn't have anyone to rely on. I had no Mother and Father to tuck me in bed, I had no one to tell the words I'm home. When I was her, I used to wonder who I took after in looks and personality. Sure Father is gone but at least Edward and I have memories of him, which is more I can say for Naruto Uzumaki."

Trisha stared out at the window and then looked at her as if something dawned on her.

"Emma...tell me stories about Naruto Uzumaki," her mother requested with a smile on her face. "Tell me what your life was like as her."

"It might cause you to cry and look at me in a different way...I did some bad things in my previous life." Emma warned her as she sat in a cross-legged position.

"Nothing will ever make me change the way I look at you," her mother promised. "You are my daughter and nothing will ever change my mind."

And with that promise, Emma began to tell the story of Naruto Uzumaki. She would spend hours telling her second mother about the pranks she did, about the dreams she had, about becoming a kunoichi but most of all of the people who had made her the person she was. Every once in awhile, she would pause and look at her smiling mother, who looked enthralled with the story Emma was telling. When she mentioned what Sasuke did to her, her mother would give her a dark look and tell her that she highly disliked the boy for hurting her the way he did. When she spoke of finding out she was a jinchuuriki and how she began to blame herself for the deaths of the people on her birthday, her mother told her that she was being silly. When she told her about the people who lost their lives in the war and how Naruto felt responsible for them.

Her mother had kept quiet before telling her that it was not her fault; she was not the one to lead them to their deaths.

By the time, Emma reached to the final battle, her mother had closed her eyes and had a smile on her face. She did not move when she tried to poke her, did not even react when the blond-haired girl yelled for her mother to wake up. Her mother remained motionless even when her brothers came barging in, wondering what the hell was happening.

On the day Emma told the truth, her mother passed away with a smile on her face.

* * *

 **Three days later**

"Isn't it strange how Emma isn't crying? You would think the child would cry her heart out like her brothers."

Emma ignored the whispers from the adults around her, instead, she focused on her two crying brothers. Today was the start of the new chapter of their life. Today, she was going to be the one to take care of her two siblings. She was going to be the strong one because this was not the first death she saw. This was not the first death I saw, Emma repeated to herself as she wrapped her arms around her crying brothers. She would not break down in front of these people.

"Emmy, why did she have to leave us?" Alphonse croaked, looking away from the men that were burying their mother in the ground. He tugged her dress' sleeves while Edward rubbed the snot with the black sleeve suit that Pinako brought for him to wear. "Sister, why didn't she get better? Why did this happen?"

"Mother didn't leave us because she wanted to," Emma whispered, running her hand through her brother's back. "Mother didn't get better because there was no way to cure her sickness...and I don't know why this happened. I don't know everything Al...I am just as confused as you."

"Isn't there a way to bring her back?" Edward whispered as the priest muttered a prayer for their mother. "We can bring her back, can't we? One of the Alchemy books spoke about Homunculus. Humans are just composed of the mind, flesh, and soul, right? We can just use Alchemy to bring her back, can't we? Can't we?"

Emma turned her body and stared at her quiet brother, wondering if he had decided to forget all logic. Was he seriously considering the idea of bringing their mother back to life? She glanced at the other mourners, who were now slowly starting to disperse from the grave. The blonde stared at Pinako, who was making her way to them but the little girl shook her head, mouthing the words that her brothers weren't ready to talk to anyone. The old lady thinned her lips but didn't go against her desires.

Nodding her head, Emma turned to look at her twin brother and younger brother, who both looked like they were entertaining the idea of bringing their mother back to life. Were they insane? There was a reason why human transmutation was forbidden. Even if it wasn't forbidden, the blue-eyed girl wasn't going to let them do it. God, did they know what to do? Did they even realize they couldn't just create a soul? She licked her dried lips and stared at her two solemn brothers.

"We can't bring her back, Edward," Emma said firmly, clenching her hands into a fist. "You think Alchemy can bring the dead back to life? Even it has its limits and reviving the dead is that limit. How are you going to bring her back? You think studying the human body is enough! Humans are more complicated than you think they are."

"We don't know that until we try!" Edward yelled.

Alphonse just stared at the two of them but the blue-eyed girl refused to look at them.

"Alchemy is about Equivalent Exchange right?" She reminded them with a scowl on her face. "Sure, you could probably make the human body with the right ingredients but you can't make a soul! You can't make our mother's soul, you idiot! The soul is the only thing connecting us to god. There is nothing equivalent to a soul! Get that through your thick head! There is no way you could bring Mother back...even if you did, she wouldn't be our mother. She would only be something you can control."

"You're saying this because you don't want Mother to come back!" Edward yelled. "If you wanted Mother to come back then you would agree with me that this is the perfect way to bring her back! You are just scared to do it! You think because a couple of adults can't do it then we can't do it."

Emma stared at her twin brother and without even thinking, she slapped him hard on the cheek. Didn't want mother back? She wanted to feel their mother's hugs, wanted to feel the warmth she brought to them but the blonde didn't want to do something she knew wouldn't work. No matter how smart her brother believed he was, there was something he would always forget to factor. He forgot to consider the fact that it was impossible for a human to create an artificial soul; this was the one thing humans could never do, no matter how badly they wanted.

" _ **Your brother is walking a dangerous line,"**_ Kurama said as her baby brother rubbed his cheek. " _ **If he even succeeds in his plans then there will be a grave consequence of him trying to play god. We don't know what that consequence might be but it will be very big."**_

" _You think I don't know that! Try telling that to Edward!"_

"I'm not saying you can't do it because a couple of adults couldn't do it," Emma hissed, staring darkly into her brother's golden eyes. Her twin brother gulped and dimly, she noticed the ends of her hair were starting to split up. "I'm telling you not to do this because there will be a consequence of your actions. Do you think just because we can do Alchemy that we should play god? Mother is gone. Mother is gone and she will never ever come back! You think I like saying those words! You think I want to accept the fact Mother is dead! She was my mother too! We cannot bring the dead back to life that is a fact we should accept! We are not gods!"

"Sister, this isn't what brother is trying to say!" Alphonse said, stepping between the two of them.

"Oh? Then what do you call someone trying to bring back the dead to life?" Emma asked, staring at her youngest brother. "The dead can't come back to life. Alchemy can't bring her back to life because if it could, wouldn't so many other people try to do it? There is a reason why it is forbidden, Edward, Alphonse."

Her twin stared at her for a good couple of seconds before glancing at Alphonse.

"I am going to do it, Emma," Edward declared. "But if you are not going to help us then that is fine but don't tell anyone about what I am planning to do." Her twin turned to Alphonse, who stood there with a torn look on his face. "Al, are you with me or against me on this?"

Her youngest brother turned to look at her but the blue-eyed girl shrugged her shoulder, making it clear to the boy that it was his choice. If it worked then her brother would blame her for not letting him do it with Edward when he had the chance. No way was she going to be blamed for something that wasn't her fault. If it was truly up to her, those two were never going to consider the idea of human transmutation. She would make sure they would understand the consequence of not playing god.

But she knew better, she knew for them to understand the consequence of their action was for them to act on it.

"I will help you," Alphonse finally said, giving her an apologetic look.

"Don't blame me if this turned out to be a bust," Emma declared evenly. "Don't blame me for your mistakes because I told you that it was impossible to bring the dead back to life. If anything happens to you two, it is hanging on your shoulders."

If Emma had known what the consequence of her brothers' actions then she would have tried even harder to stop them from doing it. She would have squashed any small hope she had just to prevent her two brothers from receiving their punishment because it was her fault.

It was her fault that Edward lost his arm and leg while her youngest brother lost his whole body.

* * *

 **Question and Answer:**

 **Q: Is reincarnated Sasuke an option for pairing?**

 _A: Yes, he is an option for pairing._

 **Q** _ **:**_ **Will Emma look like Tsunade in body aspect?**

 _A: You will just have to wait and see_

* * *

 **A/N: Please review and tell me what you think about this chapter and please do continue telling me on who you think Emma should be paired with. Also, please continue to ask me questions.**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: I would like to thank everyone that reviewed the last chapter as well as everyone who added this story to their favourites and follows.**

* * *

"Dinner is ready, Ed, Al!" Emma yelled as she placed the pot of beef stew onto the dining room table. Wiping her eyebrows, the blond-haired girl took a seat on the dining room table and pulled out her father's journal from underneath the table. It would be a long time before those two brother of hers would come downstairs to eat the dinner she prepared for them. These days, her two brothers were locked up in their father's study, trying to figure out how to bring the dead back to life, and never coming out until she dragged them by the ear to the dining hall. It was still a terrible idea if you asked her but those brothers of her were not budging from the idea.

 _Look Emmy, if we use these formula and study protein synthesis then Al and me can crack it._

Those were her brother's exact words when she questioned him about how his pointless project was going. She had been tempted to yell at him, to tell him no matter how much he and Al tried to study the human body and its building block that it was a pointless thing to do. Unless they could create a soul to replace their mother's soul then this research of her brothers would be nothing short but pointless.

Now if they were talking about sealing then there would be a chance but even then Emma wouldn't recommend it. No matter how much she wanted to see her beautiful mother's smiling face, she would not be willing to sacrifice a human life to do it. Sure, she could use a corpse but Emma didn't feel comfortable with it, not when she knew she could control her mother. The last thing she wanted was to control her mother or to have so little time with her.

No, it was better for everyone's sake that she kept their mother dead.

"What did you make this time?" Alphonse asked, snapping her out of her train of thought. "Is it stew? It smells like your beef stew! You almost never make your beef stew! What is the special occasion, Emmy?"

The blonde blinked her eyes and stared at her baby brother, noticing there were dark circles underneath his eyes, before glancing at her twin, who was already opening the pot of stew. The slowness in his arms, the yawning and especially the dark circles in his eyes told her that the boy had refused to listen to her advice about getting some sleep. Why must he be so stubborn? The girl couldn't help but ask herself as she snatched the cover from her brother's hands. Placing it on the table, she grabbed hold of the bowls and begin to pour it for her two brothers.

Her twin and younger brother shot her a grateful look before digging into the meal like they have never eaten a meal before. Should she have called Winry and Granny to eat with them? No, if she had called them then the old lady would begin to notice something was wrong. She might not know Alchemy but Pinako was sharp enough to know when something was wrong. She would notice there was a tension between her brothers and her, would know that her brothers weren't getting enough sleep and would ask her why.

"You guys need all the nutrients you can get if you are planning to continue studying the way you have been for the past couple of months," Emma explained, pouring herself a large portion of the beef stew into her bowl. "Honestly, don't you think you need to slow down you two? I am not telling you to give up 'cause I know you won't listen to me but you still need sleep. You are lucky we already know everything we are learning in school or else the teachers would kill you two for sleeping and talking during class."

"Every second is important, Emmy," Edward said. He shoved the beef into his mouth and continued on. "Al and me need to use all the time that we got if we want to bring her back. The faster we figure things out, the more time we have with mother."

"What about Winry?"

"What about her?"

"She's our friend," Emma said, folding her arms against her chest as she glared down at her older twin brother. "Don't you think you have been spending too much time studying and not enough time playing with her? She keeps asking me about what you two are doing and I don't have the courage to tell her about your crazy plans."

"It isn't crazy, Emma!"

"Then what do you call bringing someone back to life? Sane!" Her two brothers opened their mouth to yell at her but the blonde just shook her head and stared at the picture of their smiling mother. "I don't even know why I even bother telling you guys that it isn't going to work. It has been six months since she died, Ed, Al, maybe it is time for you guys to accept the fact that she is gone and she is never coming back. You can't bring the dead back to life."

"Look at this and tell me that it is impossible!" Edward snarled, pulling out the small notebook she gave him for their birthday and shoving it in her face.

Emma thinned her lips, snatched the book from his hands, and began to read the notes her brother created. The equations made sense, the percentage of the components in the human body also made sense though she would need to double check that but there was a few things missing in her brother's notes. The material needed for the human body wasn't there yet nor could she see him mention anything about the human soul. If he truly was going to go through with this crazy plan then where was the equivalent exchange for the soul?

There was nothing in the world similar to a soul but Emma would have thought her big brother would have taken it to consideration.

"You didn't mention anything about the soul," Emma stated, sliding the notes to her brother. "If you can create the body then how are you going to create the soul? You do know that there is nothing in the world which is equivalent to a soul right?"

"Al and me are searching for the material needed for that," Edward informed her.

" _ **He's never going to accept the fact that it is an impossible wish, is he Naruto?"**_ Kurama asked as she forced herself to nod at her brother's words. The nine-tailed fox sounded so amused that Emma was just tempted to hit the fox with a pan because this wasn't funny. These two brothers of her were ignoring her wisdom and were planning to do something that could ruin them. A soul could never truly come back to life. " _ **I wonder how he will react when he finds out it was all for nothing."**_

" _It'll kill him,"_ Emma answered, staring down at her pot before glancing at her two brothers, who were too busy talking about their plans to notice she wasn't eating. " _He has been spending so much time researching on this topic that it is going to kill him when he finds out that he was doing the impossible. You know Kurama, I wonder if any of my friends had the same thoughts as Edward."_

" _ **They probably did,"**_ Kurama said somberly. " _ **Losing someone they love will make them this crazy. Even we, tailed beasts, wished we could bring the dead back to life."**_

 _The only problem is that it is impossible to bring the dead back to life_ , Emma mused to herself, staring at her reflection on her bowl of stew. Even the Second Hokage's jutsu could only bring the dead back to life for only a limited length of time, using the corpses of people that was dead. If her brothers did something like that then it might be possible with Alchemy but the blonde doubt Edward and Alphonse's equation could do that much. No, it was not what her dear brothers wanted.

They wanted their mother to stay with them forever and ever, which was something that could never happen. Everyone dies in the end and that was a fact her siblings could not change with alchemy.

"Big sister, aren't you hungry?" Alphonse asked, snapping her out of her train of thought.

Emma blinked her eyes and stared at her youngest brother's golden eyes, which shone with so much worry and concern along with a little bit of fear. Was he afraid she was going to fade like their mother did? It wouldn't surprise her if Alphonse was recalling every small hint that could have told him that Trisha had been dying. Unlike her, her baby brother was observant and sensitive to changes in their family.

"I ate a bit before I called you guys down," Emma reassured her brother. "I'm just thinking about your insane idea of bringing Mum back."

"It has barely been five minutes since you called it insane! I showed you that we're making progress with our idea!" Edward complained, slamming his fist on the table. "Why do you keep thinking about it? Can't we not talk about it for the rest of the meal? Al and me need to go back to work on it."

 _Because I want you to live your life like Mum wanted you and Al do, because I have a feeling that the Truth is going to make your life hell for doing something like this,_ Emma thought, clenching her hand into a fist. She didn't have much memories about the time between her death and rebirth but she did know about Truth. He had been somewhat of a mystery to her, never looking at her with sympathy but never talking above her.

The only thing she could say about Truth was that he had taken one glimpse of her life before declaring to her that she deserved a second chance in life.

"I think about it because I've a bad feeling about it," Emma admitted, earning furrowed eyebrows from her two brothers. "I know you think that I don't believe in your ability to bring Mum back but it isn't the case. I just feel like you're doing something God-like and that God will punish you for thinking that you are above him."

"Since when did you start believing in religion?" Edward asked, pouring himself the jug of orange juice that she had set up on the table. "You once told Mum that you weren't ever going near the church because you didn't have faith in God. Now that Mum is gone, you start to believe in God!"

"I always believed in God," Emma informed her twin, folding her arms against her chest. "When I said I didn't have faith in him, it means I don't expect him to fix all of our problems or that he would answer our prayers. There is a point in which all that alchemy that we read can't make sense of anything else. How did the universe started? How did things began? There are things that science just can't explain. I believed there is a higher being out there and I believe that higher being would not happy once you accomplish what you set out to do."

"Well he can kiss my ass!" Edward yelled, stomping his foot. "Why the hell did he take away our mother and let bad people live? Why her? Why couldn't he take someone else? How could you be so dumb to believe in him!"

Because it was their mother's time, because Truth didn't think like them and finally because everyone's death was predestined. He took away the people that already had their death decided from the moment they were born. Also it wasn't dumb for her to believe, not when she, herself, was a reincarnated soul. Those were Emma's answers to her brother's questions but she could not say those words to him. Why would she? No matter what she said, Edward would try to counteract every answer she had.

No, it was better for her to keep her real answer to herself.

"One day if you ever see God, you would ask him that question for you because I know you won't accept my answer to your question," Emma finally said, taking a deep breath. "Until then, you try to find the answer to your question. Now eat your meal and go back to that important work of yours so that your dumb sister will go over to see Winry and Pinako."

"Emma, I didn't mean…"

"Just be quiet Edward Elric, you told me what you think of me," Edward flinched at the use of his full name and normally Emma would be all too happy to see him scared but she was just too fed up. Why did she even bother trying to talk some sense into him when he didn't want to listen? She was a stupid girl for thinking he would listen to her.

"Emma, Edward didn't mean to call you that!" Alphonse said as she stood up from her seat. "And it's late late!"

"Alphonse, I'm a big girl who can take care of herself," Emma declared evenly. "Our dear brother told me what he thinks of his little sister who doesn't want to see him be beaten over something that is impossible. If I stay here any longer, I might just do something very stupid so it is better I go see Winry and Pinko."

"Emma…"

"You two are cleaning up for yourself."

And with those words, Emma left her two brothers gawking at her and headed to her room to take her sleepover stuff.

It was better for her to be away from her brothers then to do something stupid like saying words that would hurt their feelings.

* * *

Emma Elric had never been a normal child that was something Pinako noticed from the moment she saw the smiling baby. She did not think like that because of how smart the baby had been or from the way she talked. No, she believed the girl wasn't a normal child because of her blue eyes. With Edward, Alphonse and Winry, their eyes still held that childish glint but Emma's eyes had always seemed older than everyone else.

She was an adult stuck in a child's body, Pinako mused to herself as she stared at the photo of Emma and her granddaughter playing with the building blocks.

 _Ring_

Pinako blinked her eyes, stared at the clock and then to the door, wondering who would be coming to their house at eight o'clock in the evening. Taking a deep breath, the tiny old woman jumped off her seat and headed towards the door, shooting a warning look at Winry, who was staring at the door with eagerness. Taking a deep breath, she opened the door.

To her surprise, it was Emma standing in front of her house with a sleeping bag in one hand and a bag filled with clothes in the other hand. The sadness and tiredness in the girl's blue eyes told Pinako that the girl must have gotten into a fight with her brothers again.

"What were you arguing with Edward and Alphonse about this time, Emma?" Pinako asked as she gestured for the little girl to come into the house. The blonde blinked her eyes but made no attempt to answer her question, just staring at the ground before looking back at her. "Emma, tell me what were you two fighting about?"

"Edward called me dumb because I didn't agree with his idea," Emma said but Pinako knew from the hunched shoulder that there was more to the story. No, there was always more to the story but the girl would never talk about it.

In some ways, Emma reminded Pinako of her father with her secretiveness.

"And you decided to come here instead of talking it out with Edward?" Pinako said, raising her eyebrows at her. "You know your brother doesn't mean what he says."

"Mum used to say that Edward needed to learn how to control his mouth and I agree," Emma said, flickering her eyes at Winry. "I'm not as smart as him but it doesn't mean he can ignore what I'm saying!"

"Emmy, what was the idea that you guys were arguing about?" Winry asked, dropping her toys to the ground and heading towards the upset girl. "And you're a lot smarter then Edward! You're better then him when it comes to Maths."

"We were arguing about God," Emma answered, clenching her hands into a fist. "Big brother doesn't believe God is real because he took Mum away from us and I told him that God did exist. He called me stupid for believing in him. He is blaming God for every bad thing that is happening to us! He doesn't try to be grateful that we have each other, that we have you guys! He doesn't know how lucky we are to have at least known our mother!"

Pinako felt her heart break at the girl's words and not for the first time, she felt sympathy for this small girl in front of her. Emma was barely six years old and already she had to act like the grown up for her siblings. Instead of letting this old woman help her with taking care of her brothers and her, the little girl was doing all the things that an adult should do. She was the one cooking the food, the one cleaning the laundry and the one making sure her brothers were behaving well. Not once did this girl complain about the unfairness of her life.

Instead, she was looking at the positive of her life.

"Emma, Edward doesn't think like you," Pinako said to the blond-haired girl. "You're right to think that you're lucky to have known your mother but you are still six-years-old. You lost your mother too soon. It is okay for Edward to complain about how unfair it is because you three are still young."

"There are kids out there that doesn't know the love of a mother," Emma sniffed and Pinako felt her lips twitched when Winry rushed over to give the blond-haired girl a hug. "There are kids out there that have it worse then us."

"Emmy…" Winry said, looking at Emma with sadness.

"I miss Mummy too," Emma admitted and for the first time since their mother's death, Pinako saw the girl sobbing her heart out. "I miss hearing Mummy kissing my pain away. I miss having her talk about how Daddy, Ed and Al would hate any boy coming to ask me out! I miss having her hugs and her cooking! I was the only one who knew Mummy was dying! Mummy begged me not to tell Ed and Al because they couldn't pretend things were fine! It was unfair for her to ask me of this! I didn't want to pretend things were fine! I wanted them to know the truth too!"

 _She knew the whole time._

Pinako had always wondered if Emma knew the truth about her mother's illness. It hadn't escaped her notice how the young girl was always careful around her mother but she just pushed the thought away. She just presumed the girl was just sensitive but now she knew better. The girl had found out about her mother's sickness long before her brothers did and instead of telling Edward and Alphonse, she kept it to herself like Trisha wanted.

No wonder Emma hadn't cried her heart out during the funeral.

She must have been crying herself to sleep the whole time Trisha had been dying.

"You knew Aunt Trisha was dying? How?" Winry asked, looking down at the shorter girl. "Didn't she suddenly get sick?"

"She had been sick for the past year," Emma admitted, rubbing her eyes. "Mum was good at pretending that everything was fine but I noticed she wasn't acting like herself. Mum kept forgetting things , she had been vomiting every morning and she didn't eat like before. Ed and Al didn't notice these things because they aren't like me. They don't notice small things but I did and it worried me. It is for that reason I asked you for the medic book."

"And Aunt Trisha asked you to keep it a secret from Ed and Al? Why? They deserved to know too!" Winry cried, looking at the shaking girl.

"She wanted to make her last year on this world count," Emma whispered, rubbing her eyes. "If Ed and Al knew, they would never be happy and Mummy wanted her last year to be filled with happiness and laughter. I can't argue against her because I wanted Mummy to be happy."

"Did my Mum and Dad know about it?" Winry asked, clenching her hands into a fist.

"Yup, why do you think Mum come here a lot? Or why we had dinner here? Sometimes Mum was just too sick and tired to do it," Emma admitted. "Uncle Yuriy did everything he can to make Mum better but Mum had an incurable sickness. At least, he made her pain more bearable. I think she would have been more happy if Dad had been here with her."

Yes, Trisha would have been happier but Van Hohenheim never replied to Pinako's letters about Trisha being sick. The man didn't even check on his three young kids, instead he was making his middle child act like the parent for them. It wasn't fair for a girl this young to experience so much pain. She deserved to act her age.

"You are going to stay here for the night, Emma," Pinako finally said. "And tomorrow morning, I'm going to have a talk with Edward about what not to say to you. The brat should be grateful that you are taking care of him."

"He will apologize to me tomorrow; he always does," Emma protested. "You shouldn't talk to him about it."

"Edward needs to understand that you also miss your mother and that you are human too," Pinako said, shaking her head. "He needs to understand it is wrong to call his younger sister dumb for not agreeing with his ideas. It doesn't matter that he is grieving too. The both of you had lost your mother."

"Granny…"

"I'll make you some hot milk while you and Winry do your homework," Pinako said, walking to the stove. "Knowing you, you spent most of the day doing the housework and cooking dinner before coming here."

"Granny…"

"Yes, Emma?"

"Thank you for letting me stay the night! I'll make it up to you tomorrow!"

And when that girl smiled, Pinako couldn't help but think that the world was just a little bit warmer because there was something about Emma's smile that made you want to protect it. Maybe, it was because of how rare it was to see her smile these days or maybe it was how tired the girl was but for whatever reason, this old lady would do a lot of things to make sure the girl kept on smiling like that.

* * *

"Edward and you have been fighting a lot these days," Winry stated as Emma burrowed herself deep into her sleeping blanket. The two of them were currently laying down on her bedroom's floor with two jugs of hot milk on her bedroom stand. "Were you two really fighting about God?"

"Yup, my brother decided that God doesn't exist anymore because Mum is gone," Emma answered, looking out at the night sky which was a habit that Winry knew the older girl did when she was upset. It was just like Edward to say something so hurtful to his sister. Maybe it was a twin brother and sister thing since her two friends only seemed to do it to each other and not to Alphonse. In fact, Winry had never seen Emma fight with her younger brother about anything.

Maybe it was because Alphonse knew that Emma had too much on her plate.

"And you think God exist which is why Edward called you dumb? Isn't it a bit silly for you two to be fighting about this?" Winry asked, looking up at the ceiling. "Mum and Dad say that everyone has their right to believe in anything they want."

"Tell that to Edward," Emma said, looking at the window. "He thinks it is God's fault that Mum died. He thinks God is like us humans but he isn't like us. Sometimes God can be merciful and allow you a second chance in life. Maybe Mum had been reborn into another life or maybe she is just waiting for Dad before moving on. It isn't wrong to believe in God, is it?"

"Edward is hurting too, Emma," Winry reminded the blonde. "Aunt Trisha was everything to him too. You knew before him that she was dying so you had time to accept it...Edward didn't have that. I still don't understand how you could keep it from him. The two of you never keep secrets from each other so why then? You never care about promises."

It was still hard for her to swallow the fact that Emma would do something like this to Edward and Alphonse. Her friend was a lot of things, strange, sweet and funny but not a secretive. She always talked about the importance of being truthful in school so why would she care about it? There were even times when her friend broke promises because she didn't think it was that important.

Why was this promise different?

"I wanted to break my promise but every time I thought about how I would feel if I were in Mum's shoes," Emma whispered, holding her hand up in the air. "If I were dying then I would want my last memories to be of happiness. I would want to die with a smile on my face, with no regrets...and so I thought if my brothers didn't know that it could happen. There were times when I wanted to yell at Ed and Al for being so happy when Mum was dying but then I always stopped myself from doing that. She deserved to have memories filled with happiness."

"But you were the one hurting in the end," Winry pointed out, rolling herself to the side to have a better look at her friend. "Today was the first day I saw you cry about Aunt Trisha's death. In her funeral, you never once shed a tear and I thought you were so brave for doing that…"

"Brave?" Emma laughed and shook her head. "It was taking all my will power not to break down, Winry. I wanted to cry so badly but my brothers were already crying their heart out and someone needed to be the strong one. Besides, I think even if I did break down that no tears were going to come out from me. I spent one year crying about Mum's upcoming death…"

"Why didn't you tell me then? Why did you keep quiet about it? Leave Ed and Al to one side, why didn't you tell me? We're friends aren't we? Why keep it a secret from me?"

"Would you have been able to keep it a secret from my brothers?"

Winry frowned and shook her head, earning a bitter smile from her friend. Okay, looking at her friend's point of view made sense. If Emma had told her the truth then she would have told Edward and Alphonse that their mother was dying. If not because she didn't want her friend to suffer alone then because those two deserved to know the truth. If her two other friends knew everything then would their pain be a little bit less? Would things be alright between her three friends if Edward and Alphonse knew the truth? She didn't know the answer to that question.

"Edward and Alphonse deserved to know the truth, Emma," Winry softly said. "Maybe their pain would go away if they knew Aunt Trisha had been dying for a long time."

"Maybe or maybe they would hate me for keeping it a secret," Emma said, closing her eyes. "Even though I promise Mum, I should have told them when it was getting really bad but I wanted her last days to be filled with happiness. I didn't want her…"

Winry furrowed her eyebrows and gestured for her friend to continue on but the blond-haired girl just shook her head and stared blankly at the ceiling. What didn't she want? Her Mum to be sad in her last days? No, she already mentioned that. Did she not want to worry Aunt Trisha? Maybe that was what her friend wanted to say. Though in the back of her mind, she felt like there was more in her friend's reasoning to keep it a secret.

Whatever it was, she would not push her for it.

"Hey Winry, you wanna hear a story?"

Winry blinked her eyes. "What kind of story?"

"About a girl who wanted to prove the world wrong," Emma whispered, looking so sad that Winry wanted to hug her friend again. "About a girl who saved the world from monsters with her best friends and about the girl who kept believing in God even when things went wrong."

"I would like to hear the story."

And so Winry listened to Emma's tales about Naruto, the little girl who never had much love and who just wanted to be loved in return. She felt her heart break at the parts where the heroine lost her godfather and felt amazement at how the heroine kept believing in the God, who took everything from her. To keep going when things went wrong, Naruto was truly a warrior princess.

"And Naruto lived happily ever after with her friends." Emma finished, grinning widely at her.

"What about her prince?" Winry asked, yawning as she glanced out at the clock. "Didn't Naruto find her prince like the princesses that Aunt Trisha used to tell us?"

"Naruto doesn't need a prince to find her happily ever after," Emma answered, closing her eyes. "All Naruto needed were her friends to be happy, because all she ever wanted was to be accepted and those friends gave it to her. To Naruto, her happily ever after were her friends and her dream."

"Do you think I can be like the character in your story?" Winry asked, earning a surprised look from Emma. "Even when things went to hell, she still kept on believing in God and not once she gave up on her dream. Do you think if I put my mind on it that I can be somebody? I'm not like Ed or Al or even you, I don't have interest in Alchemy but I want to be like Granny. I want to be the best automail mechanic."

"I think you can be better than the character in my story," Emma answered, grinning. "Because Naruto didn't have anybody who helped her reach the top; it took her a long time to find the one person who would help her. You, on the other hand, have everyone to help you achieve your dream. I'll help you achieve your dream Winry, believe it!"

 _But what is your dream?_

That was Winry's thought as she stared in her friend's turquoise eyes that shone with so much belief. In the back of her mind, the blond-haired girl knew her friend was never going to be like her brothers. Emma didn't have the patience to stay still and study like her two brothers. No, her best friend loved to wander around. If Edward and Alphonse were studying then her friend would always explore or be telling stories to the other kids. She was always the one asking people about their dreams but not once did her friend talk about her own dream.

Tomorrow, Winry was going to ask her friend about her dreams for the future.

For now, she would allow Emma to steer the conversation to the music that she had heard in the radio.

* * *

 _ **Questions**_ _& Answers_ _ **:**_

 _ **Q: Does Emma stay in Resembool or does she go with Ed and Al when they study under Izumi Curtis?**_

 _A: As of now, I have decided that Emma wouldn't go with Ed and Al but I also can't see her staying in Resembool. So I am still debating about what I'm going to make her do while those two are away. If anything, I can see her studying Alchemy by herself but I might change my mind later. I will see where this story will take me._

 _ **Q: Will Emma become a regular state alchemist like Ed? Or will she be already in the Military as an associate of Mustang, the Furer or Olivier? Or will she be an explorer like Scar and Ling?**_

 _A: You will just have to wait and see._

 _ **Q: Will Emma be practicing a unique aspect of Alchemy or will she be well rounded or will she make her own Alchemy?**_

 _A: It has already been hinted but Emma is trying to make her own type of Alchemy with combining her knowledge of Alchemy with her knowledge on sealing._

* * *

 **A/N: Please review to tell me what you think about this chapter and the relationships between the characters . Also, do continue to ask me questions about the story and tell me if the characters are being out of character.**


	6. Chapter 6

_**A/N: I would like to thank everyone that reviewed the last chapter and added this story to their favourites and follows.**_

* * *

Today was the day everything was going to change.

Emma didn't know why but something was telling her that today was the day where things in her family was going to change. She wasn't saying this because of her two brothers growing frustrated at their lack of progress or did she say this because today was truly the last day she and her brothers were in school. No, something was going to change but the nine-year-old girl didn't know what was going to change. She just knew that today was the day where their family's whole life would change.

It probably didn't help that it was raining like hell and the last time their small town had so much rain was on the morning of Trisha's death. Perhaps if she was like Neji then Emma would think that something bad was going to happen but the blonde knew this wasn't the case.

She just knew that just like on the night their mother died, that today was the day things were going to change.

"Emmy, why did you stop walking? We need to hurry up! It isn't like you to stop walking in the rain!" Alphonse said, shaking her arm to snap her out of her thoughts. The blue-eyed girl stared into her brother's warm eyes then looked at Edward, who was staring at her with so much concern that Emma just wanted to smile. Her twin brother was still a brat but she couldn't deny he cared for her, even if he still didn't listen to her warnings.

"I just had a strange feeling that today is the day everything is going to change," Emma admitted to her brothers as they walked near the river bank. She stopped in her tracks when she noticed the men of this town rushing towards the river with sand bags in their arm. Was the rain really that bad? The girl asked herself as she and her brothers wandered off the path leading to their home and into the path leading to the river.

"Is there anything we can do?" Alphonse asked as the three of them ran down the stairs leading to the river. "Big sister? Big brother?"

"It will be hard for us to do alchemy," Emma immediately answered as Edward furrowed his eyebrows, no doubt thinking of a way to fix the town's problem. "Drawing a transmutation circle will take time and the chalk we have will go away the moment the rain hits it. The only way we can fix this problem is if we can do alchemy without drawing anything or if we use blood."

"Blood!" Edward yelled, looking at her like she was crazy for even thinking about using her blood to make a transmutation circle.

Hypocrite.

If she was crazy for thinking of using blood to fix this town's problems then what should she call her two brother's plans for bringing back their mother? Not even Sasuke would do what they would do and her former teammate was insane. Not only that but Emma distinctly remember that in her past life that she had used her own blood to draw seals when she, herself, had no paper or ink to do them. The result was more permanent and it could be potentially dangerous if the seal wasn't drawn properly.

There had been quite a few times when Naruto had caused an explosion in her apartment.

"Are you crazy?"

"Well, genius tell me a better idea! Because I don't know how to do alchemy without drawing a transmutation circle," Emma retorted, folding her arms against her chest. Edward opened his mouth but then closed his mouth and shook his head, earning a triumph look from the blond-haired girl.

Even her dear brother didn't know how to fix this problem, which was saying something because out of the three of them, Edward was the one with the most talent. He was the one Emma could see becoming one of those alchemist that found a solution to an impossible problem though she wished he turned his talents on something else. She wished he wasn't so obsessed with bringing their mother back to life.

She wished Edward could be happy again, could see that their life wasn't all that bad but then again she was asking for the impossible.

"What are you kids doing here? Get the hell out of here! It's a dangerous for you to be here!" One of the men yelled when he noticed the three of them standing there with their eyes fixed on the overflowing water. Emma twisted her head, opened her mouth to snap at the man and tell him that this wasn't all that dangerous, only to stop when an older woman walked towards the overflowing river.

 _This woman was different._

That was the first thing that came to Emma's mind as she watched the woman ordered the men to leave the place. Unlike most of the woman in this small boring town, this woman radiated a presence that demanded respect. The way she strolled in here like she owned the place told Emma, this woman didn't give a damn about the social norms. In a way, this woman reminded her of the person the blonde wanted to be again.

' _Why the hell should I give a damn about what people think of me, Sakura? I ain't changing my behaviour for anyone just because they are important! Besides one day, I'm going to take that hat!"_

Those were the words she once said to her former teammate when she saw how disrespectful she had been to the two Hokage. In the back of her mind, Emma could see her other self smiling widely as she said this to her scowling teammate. She could see Sakura looking at her like she was an idiot for even thinking of becoming Hokage, could see Sasuke rolling his eyes and Kakashi-sensei looking almost amused with her declaration.

It wasn't until she was much older that Emma learnt that her mother had once declared to her whole class that she was going to become Hokage.

"Did you see what she just did, Big sister?"

"See what?" Emma asked, raising her eyebrows at Alphonse.

Her younger brother frowned and pointed towards the wall that appeared out of nowhere. Emma blinked her eyes, furrowed her eyebrows at Alphonse, who took that as the prompt to rave about the raven-haired woman in front of her. Apparently this badass woman used only her hands to make that huge wall to appear. Alphonse said more then this but this was the long story cut short for her.

"How is it possible to do alchemy without drawing a transmutation circle?" Edward asked, scratching his head. "None of the books we read talked about it."

No, they didn't talked about it but perhaps this woman was able to find a way around the problem that they had. As much as Emma loved learning about alchemy, she would not deny the fact that it was time consuming to draw a circle. If she was ever to fight, it would be impossible to do it on time. It wasn't like sealing where she could draw a seal on a piece of paper and carry it with her, ready to be used on the right time.

"We've to learn from her!" Edward said, looking so excited that Emma couldn't help but smile at her brother. "We still don't know that much when it comes to alchemy. She will be the perfect teacher for us."

 _For you guys, not for me,_ Emma thought to herself, staring at her two smiling brothers. She loved learning alchemy but the way she wanted to use alchemy was different from the way the woman used it. She wanted to learn how to combine alchemy with sealing, not learn how to use it on the ground. She didn't want to make alchemy her life and learning alchemy required dedication that Emma wasn't ready to give.

A part of her was still dedicated in making this country better and to see what other cultures could offer this world.

"Emmy, what do you say?"

"Say about what?"

"Learning alchemy from that hag?"

Emma stared at her brother's golden eyes and then to the older woman before shaking her head at him. "You and Al should go for it, she can give you guys the experience that you need…but I won't be going with you guys. I'm not meant to become an alchemist like you guys."

"What do you mean, Emma!" Alphonse said, frowning at her. "I thought you love learning alchemy!"

"I like alchemy Al but I don't love it in the same way you and Ed do…" Emma trailed off when she saw that the woman was now coughing out blood. For a brief moment, the memory of Neji last moments flooded into her mind. He had looked so pale as he coughed out blood, a result from having his lungs punctured. She clenched her hands into a fist as she remembered how the older boy had said that this was his choice.

It wasn't fair that Neji had to die so young.

"Emma, if we go then what are you going to do? We can't leave you behind!" Edward said, looking at her with so much hurt. "You're our sister! We can't go if it means that you are going to be here by yourself. I know Granny can take care of you but it isn't the same thing."

"Ed, I will be fine if you leave me alone…I'm not a baby," Emma said, ruffling her brother's hair, which earned a scowl from her twin. "I'll be fine."

Edward opened his mouth to argue with her but the blond-haired girl just rolled her eyes and stared at the fallen woman, who was being carried by her husband. Out of the three of them, she was the only one who could safely say they didn't need anyone to take care of them. Unlike her loving brothers, she had the memories of what being truly alone felt like. She might have a body of a nine-year-old and even the emotional capacity of one but she was an adult.

"We can't leave you behind Emmy," Alphonse said, curling his lips into a pout. "If we leave then what is going to happen to you? We have never been separated before."

"I have Winry and Granny, Al. I'm going to be fine."

That wasn't true. She wasn't going to be all that fine, not when she didn't know what was going to happen to them. Who was going to make sure they eat properly? Who was going to break up their arguments when they were just being plain stupid? Were they going to be happy? She had so many questions but no one could answer her question. All she could do was just sit there and watch the events that unfolded.

"Emmy, if you changed your mind then you know where to find us."

She was never going to change her mind but it was kind of her brothers to even think she was going to come back to them.

* * *

Izumi stared at the people surrounding her, noticing how almost every one of them had a grateful expression on their face. What happened before she fainted? She remembered using alchemy to make a huge wall to block the incoming flood, telling the people about who she was and then that was it. Oh, she also remembered the damn blood. She flickered her eyes to her husband, who remained impassive to the whole thing.

"Where are you guys from?" One of the people asked, flickering his eyes to her.

"We're from Dublith," Izumi answered, forcing herself to sit up right. "We just came here for holiday. It was just your luck that we happened to pass by and helped you."

"Even if it was luck, we're in your debt."

Izumi thinned her lips and ignored the men, who were praising her alchemy. Scanning the room, she ignored the bland smiling faces and stared at the one face which caught her attention. Those whisker marks on that girl's face was really something. It reminded her of those artic foxes she used to hunt to survive. Except unlike those foxes, she had a feeling this little girl wasn't going to be that easy to deal with. In fact, if the older woman was honest with herself, there was something about the girl which just caught your attention.

It wasn't her whisker marks that made you pay attention to her. No, it was her mere presence in the room and her eyes which made you want to stare at her. The girl must be no older then nine but she carried her with so much confidence that not even a grown woman carried. Those turquoise eyes didn't just shine with intelligence, it also shone with a wisdom a girl her age shouldn't hold.

Izumi couldn't help but wonder what type of life that girl had.

"Granny, please accept us as your disciples!"

Izumi blinked her eyes and automatically, she threw her bed over her shoulder and towards the two boys, who had rushed towards her. Even if they were kids, they shouldn't try to make her older then her actual age. God damn it, she didn't even have grey hair.

"Who are you calling Granny!" Izumi snarled, clenching her hands into a fist and glaring down at the two children.

"My brothers are idiots when it comes to woman," She blinked her eyes and turned her head to look at the source of the squeaky voice, only to find it was the same girl that she was staring at. "I always tell my two brothers not to call a lady old but, they don't listen to me."

"We forget, Big sister!" One of the boys protest, giving his older sister a pout but the girl must be used to her brother's pout because she just rolled her eyes. "I'm honest, Big sister!"

"Apologize to the nice lady then and then I believe you," the sister said, folding her arms against her chest. "And be sincere too! If you are not, I won't talk to you guys ever again and you know that I can do that damn well!"

Izumi felt her lips twitch when the two boys robotically turned their body back to her, bowed their heads and said their apologizes, going even further to call her big sister. Those two boys must really love their sister because she had never seen two boys behave this well. Most boys avoided interacting with their sisters but those two were different.

"Big sis, please accept us as your disciples!" The other boy demanded, sweating a little bit as he gazed at her with determined eyes.

"What is this about your sudden interest…" An old lady demanded, pushing forward to look at the two boys.

"They have always been interested in Alchemy, Granny!" The girl answered before her brother could answer. "Al, Ed and me have been learning alchemy in secret. Unlike me though, Ed and Al wants to learn more."

"And what about you Emma? You're ok with your two brothers going like this!" The old lady demanded, staring at the little girl who stared back at her.

"Yes, I am."

The little girl said it so seriously that Izumi had to do a double takeback. How could she be ok with her brothers going with a stranger? No, maybe this girl wanted to go with her brothers because there was no way this girl would leave her brothers behind. Besides, it wasn't up to the girl. Their parents would be opposed of them doing this. God knew, she would be if she had a child of her own.

"I haven't even agreed to take the boys in," Izumi said, drawing the people's attention to her. "I don't take disciples and I'm returning to Dublith."

The two boys rushed towards her and tugged her by the sleeves, staring at her with such pleading eyes that Izumi was tempted to roll her eyes at the two boys. Why did this happen to her? She asked herself as these two boys pleaded for her to take them away. Didn't they want to stay with their sister? Izumi looked at the sister, who was smiling and laughing at her brothers' antics.

At least someone found amusement in what those two were doing at her.

"Please! Please! Accept us as your disciples!' The boys yelled. "Please…"

"Why do you want to learn alchemy anyway?" Izumi asked, stopping the boys midway from their pleads.

"Be…Because we want to make life better for other people!"

There was more to the story but Izumi didn't really care much about the story. No what she cared about was why these boys so insistent about coming with her? And why wasn't the sister doing the same? Not that she wanted to have one more brat to come and beg her to train her but it was a curiosity. In fact, did their parents even accept this.

She decided to voice the last question out to them.

"Does your parents approve?"

"Our mother is dead," The little girl answered, smiling tightly at her and Izumi wished she didn't ask the question, not when she felt the whole mood becoming sombre. "And our father basically left us to fend us…so we're orphans. Even if our mother was alive, she would have approved because it would make my two brothers happy."

"And what about you? You don't want to learn alchemy? You said you learnt alchemy with your brothers!" Izumi said, crossing her arms against her chest.

The blond-haired girl shook her head, stared blankly out at the window before giving her a smile. "Ms. Izumi, I love alchemy but not like how my brothers are. If I went with you then it is going to be a waste of both of our time…because I won't pay attention. My brothers will devote their life and heart for alchemy but I can't do that. My heart has other things it wants to do."

"Emma will be fine, Izumi," The old lady said, putting her wrinkled hands on the blond-haired girl's shoulder. "She might be young but this young lady can take care of herself…unlike her two brothers."

"We can take care of ourselves!" The two boys protest.

Izumi sighed, stared at the girl called Emma, who stared pleadingly at her. This child was an orphan, in all but name, yet she was willing to be selfless and let her brothers to come with her. What kind of kid was she? No child should be like this. Would her own child had been like this girl? Even though it had been years since her baby was taken away from her, since her attempt to bring the baby back to life, she couldn't help but wonder what her child would have been like.

"Please take care of them!" Emma said, bowing her head down. "If my brothers do or say anything stupid then you have my permission to punish them as you see fit."

"We're not babies!"

"Who says I need your permission or that I'm taking them in?"

"Because I'm their big sister and I'm always going to worry about them," she declared. "And you're going to take them in because Ed and Al will annoy you until you do what they want. Also, you don't want them to think you're a hag right?"

"Who are you calling a hag!"

And despite this meeting, Izumi would come to think fondly of the day where she saw the first proof that Emma wasn't like what other people would later declare. In the future, she would wonder why this little girl refused to stop her brothers from leaving her when it was obvious that she loved them. However for now, she couldn't help but think this girl was just as much as a brat as her brothers.

* * *

"You got everything packed?"

Edward looked away from his suitcase and to the door, where his twin sister was standing there with her arms folded against her chest and a large smile on her face. If he was anyone else, he would think his sister was happy but he knew better. The smile on her face was just a disguise to hide her pain of Alphonse and him leaving. He looked down at the photo of the three of them smiling together which sat on top of his bag.

"Almost," Edward finally answered, sitting in his bed. His sister raised her eyebrows, slid her arms down to her sides before walking towards his bed. She flickered her eyes to his mostly packed bag before finally taking a seat beside him. She stared sadly of the photo of the three of them with their mother. "Want to nag me more about my clothes?"

"You're old enough to know what to pack," Emma declared, grinning. "I just wanted to see you before I go check on Al…you know if I don't check on him that he would try to pack unnecessary stuff with him."

"He would be upset with you if you try to take some things away from him," Edward said, grinning. "And then he will pout until you give in to his demands. You always give into his demands…"

"Like you also don't give into his demands," he didn't bother to argue against her because why fight against something that was true. His sister smiled and then stared out at the window. "We spoil our brother too much don't you think? It's so hard for us to say no to him."

Did they spoil Al? Edward hadn't really thought about it before but then again, he never really cared about these small things. Maybe once their mother come back, he would start to care a little bit more about how much they were spoiling their baby brother. For now though, he just wanted to focus on their training. Though currently, he wanted to spend some time with his baby sister before they left for Dublith.

"Isn't it our job as the older siblings to spoil him rotten? Mum would have been sad if we made Al cry," Edward pointed out, looking out at the window. "Remember how angry she got when you hurt Al."

"That was you, I never made our baby brother cry."

"What about the time you snatched his sweet?"

"It wasn't good for his health and being his loving big sister, I decided to take the sweet," Emma denied but the twinkle in her eyes told him just how funny she thought it was to do that to their baby brother. If Edward remembered correctly, Alphonse tried his hardest not to talk to Emma, thinking that was the best way to punish their sister for her bad behaviour.

Emma didn't care one bit that Alphonse wasn't talking to her, which annoyed their little brother so much that he threw a tantrum.

"Mum was angry with you for doing that to Al."

"I know but I couldn't resist doing that to him," Emma admitted. "She scolded me so badly for hurting Al's feelings that I wanted to say sorry to him, but then I will remember how tasty it was and forget about it. You know Mum never liked it whenever one of us was sad or hurt. Do you remember how she would try to kiss our pain away? Or tickle us to make sure we smile?"

Yeah, he did remember just how much their mother loved seeing them smile. Whenever Emma and him had an argument, their mother would tickle them and tell them that they shouldn't fight. One time when he said he hated his twin sister, Trisha had given him a look that said she was disappointed before telling him that he shouldn't say something he didn't mean. His mother would then get them to play a game or remind them stories of when they protected one another, just to remind them just how much they care for each other.

He remembered how jealous he was that Emma inherited their mother's pretty eyes.

Even now, he was still jealous that his sister had a physical reminder that she was their mother's child.

"You're okay Ed?"

"I'm fine Emmy," Edward answered, knocking her shoulder with his. "Though I should be asking you the same question, are you sure you don't want to come with us? We've never ever left you alone before. We have never been separated before."

"I'm certain that I don't want to come Ed," Emma said, looking at him straight in the eye. "If I come with you then there is no telling what I will do. I might tell her about your plan to bring Mum back so she can talk you out of it…though I doubt you will listen to her. Besides, I've other plans…I'm not going to stay here."

"What do you mean you're not going to stay here?" Edward yelled, jumping off from his bed. "Emma, what are you planning to do? And why am I hearing this for the first time? Wait, are you going to stay with Winry and Granny?"

His younger sister thinned her lips, stared out at the window and then back at him before shaking her head at him. She wasn't going to stay with Winry and Granny? Then where was she going? There was nowhere for her to go. Was she leaving because of them? No, Emma was a lot of things but she would never leave because of them. His sister did think for herself after all.

"I'm going to travel for a bit before joining the army," Emma admitted, looking down at her hands. He opened his mouth to argue with her but one annoyed look from his sister was enough for him to shut it down. An annoyed baby sister wasn't someone he wanted to deal with. "Ed, you know me. Do you really think I would be happy here? I want to be able to protect people. I want to change the world and I can't do it from here. I want to learn about other cultures too. I think if everyone just got to learn about different cultures and learn how to tolerate then none of this would have happened."

But his sister could be stationed in another town if she went to the army. His baby sister would be forced to kill people and maybe a little kid would blame her for murdering her parents. Not only that, it would mean there was a chance she wasn't ever coming back to them. He already lost their parents, he didn't want to lose his sister too.

Yet his sister wasn't content in this town. Even though he was studying his butt off to bring their mother back, Edward didn't miss the twinkle in his sister's eyes whenever she heard stories about new cultures or the desire in her eyes when she saw a map.

"I know you won't be happy here but I don't want you to join the army! No, I refuse to accept the fact you are going to join the army!" Edward yelled, clenching his hands into a fist. "We lost a mother Emma, don't make Al and me lose you too. I don't want us to end up with the same story as Winry. If you go there then…"

"Then I might die but I'm not scared," Emma admitted, staring into his eyes. "Dying isn't scary Ed…it's peaceful. It is like going to a really deep sleep. I want you and Al to live in a country where you are safe to do whatever you want and joining the army will let me do that. You shouldn't worry about me dying."

"Emma, you're my baby sister," Edward said softly, freezing his sister on the spot. "I'm always going to worry about you. I know we fight a lot about my plans but it doesn't change the fact that I don't want to lose you. I…I can't afford to lose you and Al too."

"And you won't lose us," Emma declared, gulping down a lump. "And you know why? Because Al and me have an overprotective big brother watching us. You won't lose me because I've a reason to come back alive and that is you two. I'll do everything in my power to come back to you guys in one piece."

And when his sister say it like that then Edward had no choice but to believe in her.

"Does Granny know?"

"No but Winry does, I told her about my plans a long time ago," Emma answered and Edward couldn't help but feel a bit betray that their best friend knew about her plans long before him. "But enough about me. I want you to promise me something Ed."

"What?"

"Eat all your vegetables and drink all your milk," Edward made a face at the last part, earning a laugh from his sister. His blue-eyed twin shook her head. "I'm kidding, Ed about that. No, I want you to promise me that you will take care of Al and that you won't do anything stupid or dangerous."

"I won't! You know I won't do anything reckless or stupid!"

"Ed, the moment you said you wanted to bring Mum back to life was the moment I decided that you will do something dangerous," Edward opened his mouth but his sister continued on before he could get a word in. "Ed, I know you think you know what you are doing but I am going to say this again…what you plan to do is something very dangerous. No matter how I think about it, it is going to come with a heavy cost."

"If it means we will have mother back then I can deal with it."

His sister thinned her lips but didn't say anything instead, she just hugged him like there was no tomorrow. Maybe, he would see his sister before she join the army. Once they bring mother back, he would tell her to come back home and things could go back to the way it was.

It wouldn't be a few years later when he realised just how right his sister had been to warn him off.

* * *

 _ **Q: Is Mustang Sasuke?**_

 _A: No_

 _ **Q: Will Emma have chakra again?**_

 _A: It has been hinted but Emma does have chakra, she just doesn't use it in front of everyone._

* * *

 **A/N:** Please review to tell me what you think about this chapter and the relationship between Emma and Edward. Do you think it is realistic? Also do continue to tell me about the pairings? Also, I might need to announce this but after much thought, I decided that maybe Emma going with a reincarnated Sasuke would be a bad idea. The two character would have too much history and issues to work though and I really can't see them working through it, especially when Edward and Alphonse find out the truth. However, reincarnated Sasuke is still going to appear along with a few other characters. Also please tell me what you think about Emma.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: I would like to thank everyone who reviewed the last chapter and added this story to their favourites and follows.**

* * *

Was it alright for her to let them go alone?

Emma couldn't help but ask herself this question while she waved her goodbyes to her brothers and their new teacher. She knew it was better for her to let them go now then to follow them. She didn't have the same interest as her brothers did when it come to Alchemy. She knew if she went then she would spill the beans to their teacher about what they planned to do and then they would look at her with betrayal.

She didn't want them to feel like that so it was better for her to leave them.

"They will be back soon," Winry said, snapping her out of her thoughts.

"Yes, but I won't be here," Emma pointed out, staring at the fading train. "I don't know when I will see them again but I hope it is soon. We have never been a part before…we have always been together."

"You could go with them," Pinako said, staring at the trains passing through them. "There is nothing stopping you from travelling there."

"If I go with them then I will be so overprotective of them to the point that they will get sick of me," she whispered, running her hand through her hair. "If I go with them then I'll never ever let them grow up. I want them to grow up and not depend on me…I need to let them make mistakes."

 _I don't want them to rely on me and I want them to get used to a life without me,_ she wanted to say those words to the old lady but Emma knew Pinako would be furious at her for having these thoughts. How dare you have those thoughts? How could you think like this? Those were the words Emma knew Pinako would yell at her. The old woman didn't know how much she struggled before coming to this conclusion.

She would never think of leaving them if she didn't know Edward and Alphonse would soon leave this town to finish that crazy idea of theirs.

"Are you still planning to go through with that idea of yours? The world out there isn't kind, Emma and while I know you can take care of yourself, I still think you should wait a little bit more," Pinako said, looking up at her with concern eyes. "You will have to cross the desert if you wish to go to Xing. Also there is the language barrier to consider…not everyone there can speak our language."

"I can learn," Emma answered, giving the old woman a smile. "Between Ed, Al and me, I was the one with the most talent in language."

How many times had her two brothers came to her for help? She might not have been as smart as them when it came to science or math but language was where Emma shined. It might be the memories of Naruto which bled through her but Emma knew the importance of knowing how to talk. How many times had her previous life stopped fight because of her words? It was for this reason she did her best to master the language.

"It is one thing to master our language, Emma, but it is another thing to master the language of the people of Xing," Pinako pointed out, thinning her lips. "They do not use letters like we do, they use characters. Their language is completely different from us to the point that we have no common words with them."

 _You think I'm going there blind? I have done my research,_ Emma thought to herself, clenching her hands into a tight fist. From what she know, the language of Xing was similar to the language spoken in the Elemental Countries. There were some variations with the language being a little bit less formal then her original language but, it would not be hard for her to learn the language.

Even if it was hard, Emma would not leave the country until she could master the language.

"Grandmother, if anyone can master Xinese then it will be Emma," Winry declared, turning her body around to look at them.

Emma grinned at her best friend's words, who smiled right back at her but the blonde didn't miss the lingering sadness in her best friend's eyes. She knew Winry wished she stayed here with her and Pinako but she couldn't do it. With her brothers gone, there was no reason for her to stay here. She might have her best friend but it was not going to be the same thing. She would never hear Alphonse and Edward whispering ideas on how to bring their mother back. She would never wake up to her baby brother bouncing on her bed in order to wake her up.

No, it would be better if she left.

"You do plan to visit before you join the military and when you come back from Xing, don't you brat?" Pinako questioned her.

Emma grinned. "Of course I will, Granny! I don't want you to forget my face and I will be bringing you a lot of presents from there because there is no way I'm not going to work there."

"Who is going to hire a nine-year-old?" Pinako asked, raising her eyebrow at her. "You have not mastered Alchemy and only scumbags will hire a little kid like you."

 _Who says I'm going to work with an appearance like this? Or that I will be working like a normal person?_ Emma wished to say those words to Pinako however she knew the old woman would demand to know what the hell she was talking about. Pinako might not be an alchemist but the woman was smart. She would catch her meaning and asked her what insane plan she had going through her head.

If the woman knew about chakra and how she planned to use it to work her ass off then Emma knew she was going to get an earful for abusing her rare gift.

"I won't know until I try, Granny," Emma finally said.

"Nothing I say will convince you to stay a little bit longer?" Pinako asked but it sounded more like a statement in Emma's ears.

Emma nodded her head. "I love this small town but I was never meant to stay here for the rest of my life. I always felt restless in this town, always wondering what the world out there was like. I also knew I can't become a housewife like Mother or an alchemist like Father. I don't know exactly when I decided but I am meant to be a soldier. I want to make this country safe enough for you, for Winry and for my baby brothers. If I want to become a good leader then I must get to know the countries around me. Besides, this town holds some bad memories…I can't stand being in that house now that I know Al and Ed are gone."

When she said those words, she spoke the truth. How could she stay in the house her second mother died in? The place where she saw her mother slowly dying? There were days where she expected to hear Trisha calling out to her? Climbing tress no longer brought her the same joy because of how she remembered her loving mother being worried for her. Cooking in the kitchen made her want to cry because her sweet mother would apologize to her for making her do this.

She had been able to handle it because Emma had her two brothers but now they were gone too.

If Emma wanted to live then she needed to leave this town.

* * *

Stuffing her clothes into her duffle bag, Emma sat down on her bed and picked up the family photo from her bedside table. Edward had been upset with her when she told him that there was no way in hell they were going to burn the only photo of their father that they had. He demanded, begged and even threatened to run away from home because she refused to let him lit it in fire. It had been childish of her but she didn't want to burn the photo, not when she remembered how he was crying in the photo.

If her brother knew what she remembered then Emma doubt he would have done those childish things to her. No, if Edward had lived through the life of Naruto Uzumaki or any other jinchuuriki then her baby brother would never think of burning it. This photo was proof he existed. This piece of image reminded her, reminded them, that he had been in their lives. It was true he didn't come back home to their mother but she could still see the love in their father's eyes as he stared at their mother.

There had to be a good reason why he left them all alone and it had to be the reason why he thought he was a monster.

"Edward thinks Mother would have been tried harder if you have come back home," Emma said, staring down at the photo in her hand. "He thinks you abandoned us…that you abandoned Mother. He hates talking about you and he forgot every good thing you did for us and Al. Maybe if Truth had taken my memories away, I would think the same but I can't hate you. I wish I can blame you like he can. I wish I can say it is your fault that my brothers have this insane idea to bring her back to life."

She didn't even know why she was saying these words to a photograph. Hohenheim would not be able to hear these words she was saying nor would it change the situation she was in. If anything, it was just a pointless thing to do. It was just like Naruto drawing the picture of her parents when in actual fact, it would not change the fact she did not know what her parents looked like.

Shaking her head, Emma wrapped a piece of cloth around the picture fame before placing it inside her bag. She then pulled open her drawer. Pulling out a needle from her pocket, the blonde poked the needle into her thumb and placed the few drops of blood into the storage seal she made a few years ago. She grabbed the journals, stuffing all but two journals, inside her orange duffle bag.

Emma looked at the first pink journal in her hand, took a deep breath before opening it. This was just one of the journal she could not afford to put inside her bag or have stolen. It was her proof and reminder to the world that she had been someone else, a reminder that there was a next life and that the actions of this life determined a lot of things. Once she made a name for herself, she would have it publish.

" _ **If no one thinks you are crazy,**_ _"_ Kurama said as the blonde took out one of the scrolls that she purchased from the Xing merchants. _"_ _ **You think anyone is going to believe that you lived a thousand years ago?Those people believe in science. Heck, your idiotic brother plans to bring your mother back to life by using science. If he knows about your previous life then he will talk some bullshit about how it isn't scientifically possible.**_ _"_

" _Who says I'm going to make it biography? I'm going to make it into a story and change the names…well except my original name,"_ Emma answered, drawing the storage seal into the scroll. _"Also, my idiotic brother thinks everything can be explained by science! He thinks the human body isn't that complicated. The only reason why he joined his master is because he needs more understanding on how to do the transmutation. If he knows about my past life then he will demand to know how it is possible."_

" _ **You think he will believe that you were some saint in your previous life?**_ _"_ Kurama asked as she channelled her chakra into the storage seal. _"_ _ **I mean you were an absolute saint with how you were willing to forgive that Uchiha for the crimes he committed to you. You made friends with that Gaara despite the fact he nearly killed your comrades. If it were anyone else, they wouldn't do the things you did. You even made friends with me despite the fact I'm the reason why you didn't have any parents.**_ _"_

" _He won't believe my story unless he found some proof of my words and even then I don't think he will fully believe me,"_ Emma replied, taking the second book from her bedside table. " _I was willing to forgive Sasuke because he meant the world to me but I agree I was a fool. My love for him in that life is toxic and I have read enough books, have enough talks to know that a relationship like the one I had with Sasuke is too dangerous. However, I would like you to know that I would have even forgive Edward or Alphonse if they tried to kill me. I made friends with Gaara because I could have become like him if I didn't have the friends I had. Besides, he understood me and I understood him. Our friendship was born from this understanding. I became friends with you because I learnt that you were just as much as a victim as me. You kept being passed through my family like a piece of furniture…it wasn't fair to you."_

Kurama snorted at her words. _"_ _ **That may be true but if I had to choose my favourite container then it might be you. If I had to choose being stuck in a pot or you then I pick you.**_ _"_

Emma smiled widely at hearing those words. It was perhaps the best compliment she heard to date from the grumpy fox. A thousand years ago, the fox would have said otherwise but he chose to be with her. In fact, she distinctly remembered Truth giving the nine-tailed fox a choice to move on or to be stuck with her. Kurama chose to be with her in this life, chose to be stuck with her and for that she was grateful.

" _ **I choose to stay with you because I don't like the idea of growing up."**_

Liar, Emma thought fondly as she placed her book inside her bag. It would have been the freedom he had always wanted but the Kyuubi decided to stay with her in this life. For this, she would always be grateful because the fox reminded her that she hadn't always been Emma Elric. If she ever thought she was going insane then the fox would prove her wrong.

She was grateful to have the fox in her life.

* * *

 _This brings back so many memories_ , Emma thought to herself as she stared at the vast desert in front of her. When she had been so stressed from her work, Naruto would always demand to get a holiday. Once Tsunade agreed to her demands, she would travel to visit Gaara. The red-haired boy never once complained about her surprise visits instead he would just sigh and tell his secretary to bring out her favourite drink. Once that happened, she would release all her pent-up frustrations at him, telling him of the problems she was currently facing while he just nodded his head, offering the occasional advice.

"This is as far as I will take you, kid," the young man said, snapping her out of her train of thought. "If you are really going through with this idea of yours then I will give you the best of luck."

Emma twisted her body around and stared at the young man, who seemed like he wanted to tell her not to go through the desert. She knew if it weren't for the money she saved up then the man would have never agreed to take her here. A young child should never travel by themselves or so the people of this world believed but she was a fighter. She was a kunoichi in her past life and there was no way she would allow heat to kill her.

"Thank you, sir."

If there was a difference between her and Naruto then it was the fact that she knew manners.

"Thank me? You must be an insane little girl," Emma blinked her eyes at the man, who stared at the desert in front of her. "The desert is very big and very little people have survived going through the desert. I am sending you to your death…and I did it because I wanted money."

Emma smiled. "You think just because you wanted money that you are a bad person? There is a reason why you agreed to take a little girl's money and it is because you wanted to support your family. It is thanks to your actions that your family will now have enough food in their house tonight."

The young man blinked his eyes and stared at her like he had never once thought about it in that way. The blonde thanked the man before taking the first steps to begin her new life of travelling and soul searching. This was her time to figure out what was wrong with the world. It was time for her to know whether it was the lack of understanding of people that brought war or if it was just greed for more.

She shook her head and stared at the forged documents in her hand. It had taken her a few hours how to figure out how to forge a document using alchemy but once she got the idea in her head, she couldn't stop herself from not using it. In fact, she even tested on a few officials, who truly believed the document in her hands were true. If she had been any other little girl, she would feel guilty but Emma knew better.

She knew if she wanted to continue with her dream then it was time for her to be a little bit dirty.

With that thought in her head, she pulled out the light pink scarf from her bag and wrapped it around her head. The first rule she remembered when it came to surviving in a desert was to wear something that could protect her head from the heat. She also recalled never to wear any of your favourite clothes in the desert; a lesson she learnt from Sakura, who cried her heart out because her clothes were ruined.

Naruto might not have been a girly girl but she also had her favourite clothes.

She didn't want to have the clothes given to her by Winry and Pinako ruined nor did she want to lose the hairclip Edward and Alphonse given her after their first birthday without Mama.

" _ **How do you plan to cross the desert?"**_ Kurama asked as she took another step forward. " _ **Don't tell me you are planning to walk the whole way there!"**_

Emma stopped walking and tilted her head. " _Yes, why not?"_

" _ **Some things never changed; your damn idiocy seemed to have carried over to this life,"**_ Kurama complained and the blonde wished she could hit the fox where it hurts. _**"Why the hell would you walk when you can use your damn chakra to run and get there faster? If we were to do it your way then it will take us five days to cross."**_

Well when the fox put it in this way then Emma would admit she was acting like a damn idiot.

Taking a deep breath, the blonde channelled her chakra to the soles of her feet and charged in the direction that the map had told her to go through. She had never pushed herself to the limits when it came to the usage of chakra in this world but Emma was going to let herself loose. There was no one to hide her powers from. Her brothers were no longer here to judge her.

Yeah, she better run if she wanted to get there in two days' top.

* * *

Emma stopped running once she saw ruins in the middle of the desert. She had enough energy to run, had enough chakra to cross the desert but the ruins just called to her. Maybe it was her desire to find out about the past but something was telling her to go there. She unwrapped her scarf, released her hair from her hair tie and took a seat on one of the ruin walls. God, maybe it was a good thing she followed her feelings because she needed to catch her breath.

" _ **Do you have any idea which civilization this is?"**_ Kurama asked her as she gulped in the air.

The blonde flickered her eyes at the stones and shook her head. " _I can only confirm it isn't Konoha nor Sunagakure."_

If Kurama was physically beside her then he would be rolling his eyes at her for pointing out the obvious. She took in a deep breath, pushed herself off of the stone she had been sitting and began exploring the ruins that drew her in. Perhaps, these ruins could answer the questions that were troubling her or the very least give her more things to think about.

This place must have been pretty at one point if you asked Emma. She was no architect but she loved to draw just like Naruto did. The buildings may have been built in stone but it had been built from the most beautiful stones Emma had ever seen. With the sun shining the way it was, she had no doubt that at one point that this had been the most beautiful civilization that anyone had ever seen.

As she walked around, Emma heard footsteps and whispers around the ruins. Was there someone here? If so, why weren't they making their presence known to her? The blonde licked her lips, placed her hands inside her pockets and continued to walk through the lost civilization. There was no reason for her to be worried, not when the blonde knew she could protect herself.

Nodding her head, Emma relaxed her body and stared at the stone that she had never noticed before. It was very pretty if you asked her but it was incomplete. Maybe if she looked around more then maybe she could find what was missing. In fact, she wondered what this ruin was. Tilting her head, she pulled out her journal from her bag before taking out her pencil.

If she wanted to know what this ruin was then she would need to draw it and look for some historian who could decode it. Although, Emma mused, it looked almost like one of those complicated seals she used to love to draw but the art of sealing had been lost for a long time now. Whatever this ruin was about, it had nothing to do with her past life.

" _ **Then why the hell are you so keen to know what this ruin is about? It just a god damn drawing in a wall,"**_ Kurama grumbled as she sketched the drawing in front of her. _**"It has nothing to do with you. I thought you wanted to see how much the world changed, not draw some ruin inside your precious notebook. You should just ignore it."**_

" _Because it is incomplete and I don't like seeing things not being incomplete,"_ Emma answered, furrowing her eyebrows together as she drank the detail in front of her. _"Besides if we can discover what is the missing piece and bring the whole thing to the capital, there is no telling how much money we can get. Besides, it feels weird."_

" _ **What do you mean weird?"**_

" _It just feels weird to me,"_ Emma replied, shrugging her shoulder. " _I don't know whether it is the alchemist in me or if it is because I am a seal mistress but it doesn't feel right. Actually, this whole place doesn't feel right to me."_

Maybe it was her imagination but the blonde felt like the ruins were haunted by the past. There was no one here, not even a hint that the descendants of the people of the civilizations even visit. In fact, if she sat here and concentrate on the remnants of the chakra that once existed, she would no doubt feel its misery. The whole place screamed it in her mind.

 _Thump._

Without putting her book down, Emma tilted her head, swung her leg over her shoulder and kicked the intruder who even dared to sneak up on her. Flipping the book closed, the blonde twisted her body around to see the it was a young boy with white hair and red eyes staring hatefully at her. Oh, was he an Ishavalan? She only heard what they looked like but this was the first time she saw one in person.

"Why did you attack me?" Emma asked, tilting her head.

"You're a Amestrian!" The boy snarled, running towards her with his fist swinging towards her. "Your people murdered my parents!"

Anger. Hate. Resentment. These were the only emotion shining through the boy's eyes as he tried to hit her for the crimes that the capital committed. They were feelings she understood all too well. Those three emotions reminded her of what caused the third shinobi war and how it ruined her best-friend's life. The world would be a better place if there was no war.

This world would be a better place if people didn't focus on getting revenge.

"Will hurting me bring them back?" Emma asked, ducking under the boy's fist. "Because if it will then go ahead and kick my ass but it won't bring your parents back. You think I am the reason why this war started? You think you are the only victim in that war? My best friend's parents died in that war too! Your people weren't innocent in that war too, they murdered people too. You aren't the only victim in that silly war."

She grabbed the boy's arm and threw him to the ground before placing her hands around his wrist, preventing him from hurting her. _I might stay here for a while_ , Emma mused, staring down at the struggling boy. He must think she was a monster. He thought she was like those people with no morals, those people who murdered innocent civilians because the Furher demanded it.

She would become a solider but once she reached the top, Emma was going to change how the system worked.

"You don't know what we have been through!"

"You are right," the boy blinked his eyes but the blonde just smiled. "But I can guess how terrible it is not to have your parents anymore. There is an aching hole in your heart that can't be filled, a hole left by your parents. You must wake up everyday, hating my people because they took it away from you. You want to hurt us in the same way they hurt you but it won't fix your problems. Sure, hurting me will bring you relief…but it will only be temporary. Soon, it won't be long before you start hurting other people just so you can say that you got the people responsible for their deaths. Getting revenge will just make this pointless cycle continue."

He blinked his eyes and stared at her with such confused eyes that Emma was reminded how young this boy was. This young boy might be the same age as her but he didn't have the memories that she had. The war he saw was the first war he experienced and those were the first people he lost. He didn't have to be the soldier or be the girl who felt so much guilt that people were dying for her.

"What is happening? Child, why are you doing this to him?"

Emma twisted her head around and blinked her eyes when she saw an elderly woman yelling at her. So, there was more of them? Well, it made sense if she used her head. The boy would not survive by himself in this vast desert nor would he have gotten here by himself. Unlike her, this young boy did not have the skills or memories to survive in this terrible world.

"He attacked me first because I'm an Amestrian," Emma replied, releasing her hold on the boy. "So it is only fair I defended myself from him but since you are here then I think you can take care of him. I mean you didn't hurt me even though I'm from the country that hurt you."

"Is this true? You are bringing shame to the name of our people because where the girl is from!" The old woman yelled.

The boy nodded. "She hurt my parents."

"The girl is innocent of the crime of her people!" The old woman snarled. Emma nodded, earning a scowl from the boy. "How many times have I told you not to attack strangers? You are lucky the girl knew how to defend herself, if anything had happened then we would have been in trouble. She is a child just like you."

"Hurting me wouldn't change a thing," Emma also couldn't help but remind the boy. "And it is the government that hurt you. It is filled with people who only longed to see blood because the whole problem could have been solved if we had given the solider, who killed that innocent child, to you so you could have dealt with him as you saw fit."

It would have been fixed if the government was willing to listen to them but just like in Konoha, the people of her country did not see her logic. They only wished to see blood and for that, she hated how barbaric the world had become. The world needed to move on. She would make it move on so the world would be filled with children, who did not understand hate.

"What interest me is why a child isn't with her guardian," The old lady said, jumping down from the ruin. "You're too young to travel by yourself."

Emma just had a feeling that she wasn't going to reach Xing with the time limit that she placed on herself.

* * *

 _ **Question and Answer:**_

 **Q: Is this before or after the Ishavlan War?**

 _A: This is set after the Ishavlan War._

 **Q: Is Roy the reincarnation of Shikamaru?**

 _A: No, I have decided against making any of the FMA characters being the reincarnation of any of the Naruto characters._

 **Q: Is reincarnated Sasuke a canon character or Oc?**

 _A: Reincarnated Sasuke won't be a canon character._

 **Q: Is Emma going to join up with Mustang or Olivia?**

 _A: As of yet, I have no idea on who Emma is going to join with since I can see her being in both. I think as I continue to write then I will see where I see her going to._

 **Q; Did Naruto have to give something in for her reincarnation or did Truth just let her pass for all the deeds she have done to protect the world?**

 _A: I don't know if I answered this one but it has been hinted Truth just let her pass because of all the good deeds that she has done. The idea of reincarnation will be explored more when we see the different characters who have been reincarnated._

 **Q: How old are the characters?**

 _A: As of now, Emma and Edward are nine while Alphonse is nearly eight years old._

* * *

 **A/N: Please review to tell me what you think about this chapter. Please also don't hesitate to ask more questions. Also for the idea of pairing Emma with reincarnated Sasuke, I still can't see it happening. As Naruto, she was devoted to Sasuke however in her new life, Emma knows how toxic her feelings for Sasuke was. She knows that being in a relationship with him brings more harm than good. Perhaps in the first few chapters, I can see her being with a reincarnated Sasuke but now that I have her developed, I cannot see her being with him. So it is not happening but Sasuke will make an appearance in this story. If you can convince me otherwise, please do but I just can't see it happening. I will put a poll with the pairing.**


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: This chapter was struggled to write but I hope that you guys enjoy it.

* * *

Emma stared down at the bowl of stew in her hands before looking at the smiling Ishavalan people surrounding her. These people were kind, the blonde thought to herself, flickering her eyes at the kind old woman, who sat beside her. How many people would insist for someone, who came from the people that killed their countrymen, to stay with them for the night and eat their food? Not many people would do that.

Then again, wasn't she like that? Emma remembered her past life and how she always wanted to help the people around her, how she couldn't even bring herself to kill the man that murdered her only father figure. She made peace with Obito. Obito, who was the reason she didn't have parents in her first life. Then again, being angry would never solve her problem.

Perhaps, these people understood that too.

"How's the food?" The old woman asked, snapping her out of her thoughts.

Emma smiled. "It is very tasty! I've never tasted food this good in such a long time!"

One of the children snorted at her words while the old lady just blinked her eyes at her. What was surprising? It came from the people's kind heart, which in her opinion made it tasty. Sure, it didn't taste like those food from those fancy restaurants that Emma used to look at longingly. Yet, there was something in the food that reminded her of the times where she cooked food for her two brothers.

"So why did you come all this way by yourself?" One of the older women asked, rocking back and forth with the baby in her arms.

"I want to see Xing," Emma replied, swallowing down her porridge. "I want to see the world. I want to learn about the other cultures surrounding this country before trying to become the Furher."

Everyone stopped eating when she uttered her dream, which did not really surprise her. How many kids her age would make this claim? Not many that was for sure. No one at her age would think of climbing up the government but Emma wanted to make a change. This country was filled with too much blood shed, blood shed she knew could have been avoided.

How many kids died in the Ishalav war? How many orphans were created from the useless war? Too many to count. People hated one another because of things that were out of control. The previous war was started because a foolish soldier shot a kid. If this country had a better government, better control on their soldiers and did checks on them then none of this would have happened.

"Why do you want to go to the top?" The old woman asked calmly, shooting warning looks at her fellow countryman. "You could be something else. Why do you want that job?"

"I want to make this country better," Emma answered. "I want this country to be filled with kindness and love. I don't want people to keep fighting wars that are useless. The war didn't just cost lives but also money; money which could have been spent on schools and better hospitals. I want to help this country and the best way to help the country is to be the top dog."

The kids snickered at her words while the adults stared at her with sympathy. They thought she would not be able to do it. To them, they think she was dreaming but Emma did not dream. She would make her vision a reality. If Gaara could become Kazekage despite all the people he killed, then Emma could be the person that would lead them to a better future.

She would make this country great in other ways.

"It will not be easy, child," the old woman finally said, staring deep into her eyes. "The road you plan to walk on is a dangerous and risky road. You will be forced to do things that you don't want to do. You will be a dog to the military. Not only that but it may take years before you can reach the top. There may be people that will try to stop you; god knew there were soldiers that had been murdered because they refused to do the deed. You can be something else."

"I can be something else but it won't be the same," Emma pointed out. "I will be forced to do things that I don't want to do? I realize that and I will live with the guilt but, in the end I will move to a better future. I will be a dog for the military? I will act like one but I won't truly be like there. Stop me? Let them try because I won't give up. I don't care how long it takes but I will do whatever it takes to get there?"

"Even betray your loved ones."

"Especially my loved ones," Emma said evenly.

Edward and Alphonse would never forgive her if she did unforgivable facts but they would eventually forgive her. As long as this country become safe then they would forgive her. Well, actually that might be her younger brother. Her twin would not forgive her until she forced the facts on him. Yet even then, he would forgive her.

He would not trust her ever again but that was a different story.

"What made you want to walk this path?"

"I always knew I want to be a soldier, to be the top dog," Emma replied. "When my best friend lost her parents in the war, I knew right then and there that I will do anything to climb to the top. She lost her family members because of a stupid war. I want a country where no kid didn't have to experience that."

"What about your parents?" One of the kids asked.

Her parents? Her mother was dead and she was never ever going to come back again. She left her the job to protect her brothers, which Emma would fulfil to her dying breath. Her father? There was no knowing where that man went. Perhaps she would see him soon. No, she needed to see him. She wanted him to confirm that her brothers' idea was insane.

If she found him before her brothers went through with this crazy idea of theirs then it would be good.

"My mother is dead," Emma finally answered. "My father abandoned me and my brothers when we were young. I guess that makes me an orphan."

She did not miss the surprise in the old woman's eyes. A little girl that was not angry at her father for leaving them alone? Not everyone was as calm as her when they spoke about their broken family. Yet, not many people remember a life that was worse than this. Not many could claim that they were tired of being angry.

"Where are your brothers?"

"With their teacher," Emma declared. "They are learning to become an alchemist, which is good because I know they will make this country better."

The old woman made no comment but Emma was not blind. She could see the woman did not believe her. Did she think her brothers will make this country worse? Her brothers, who were doing everything in their power to bring their mother back to life, would worsen this country? Never. They had more love to give then some people deserve.

God, how many times Alphonse forgave the kids that bullied him for being so smart? How many times had Edward made peace with people that made jokes about his height? The last bit was all her. She was certain if she hadn't threaten to never talk to him again then her brother would continue arguing with those silly kids. Still, her brothers loved the people here. They loved to protect everyone close to them and Emma knew one day that they would see to protect everyone close to them, would be to make this country better.

Well, she prayed they would see it that way.

"Why didn't you go with your brothers?" The old woman asked, handing her more food to eat. "And why didn't their master insist that you go with them? You are too young to be by yourself."

How many times had people ask her this question? Granny asked it. Winry certainly demanded to know her reasons for not going with them. The people in the town had questioned her too. Apparently, her protectiveness of her brothers lead everyone to believe that she could not leave them alone for one minute. Okay. It was true but they were on different paths. It was better for her to let go of them now then to let them go when it was even more difficult to leave.

"I love my brothers. I will do anything for them even kill for them," the old woman blinked her eyes while everyone stared at her wide-eyes. Emma looked at the fire. "But they are going in a different path from me. They are doing something that I can't accept. If I went with them then I know I will try to fight a fight that is just pointless; they never listen to me. I am also very protective of them…I am afraid if I went with them then they will get sick of me."

How many times had they argued about this stupid plan of theirs? How many times had she been forced to go to Winry's house because she could not handle how stupid they were? She knew at one point that if they kept fighting the way they did then they would say things that they couldn't take back. If she told Edward that he was the biggest shortest fool she met, that he was playing a game that he could never win then her brother would never forgive her.

She did not want to see his disappointment when he realized it could not be done.

"Get sick of you? They will never get sick of you," a teen said, grinning at her. Emma blinked her eyes at him but the teen just ignored her and wrapped his arms around another boy. "Me and my brother? We fight like dogs over the smallest of things. He is only a year younger then me but he acts like the mother hen. You think I am sick of him? No. It is normal for siblings to fight and it is normal for them to ignore. God knows how many times I ignore my brother's words."

"And how many times had it gotten you in trouble?"

"Three times."

The younger teen snorted. "Fifty."

"Three times."

"Fifty! Don't make me bring out the book!"

"You recorded it!"

Her lips twitch at the sight of the two brothers arguing. It almost reminded her of the times where she fought with Edward, only she threatened to give him only milk for his lunch. Her brother would then say he would give her all of his vegetables to eat. She pointed out she could ignore it but he could not ignore the milk if she made something spicy.

Her brother looked at her like she was an evil person.

"If you argue with your brother the way those two argue, then I have no doubt that they are missing you like crazy," the old woman informed her. Emma blinked her eyes, earning a large smile from the woman. "Those two may argue and they might go days without talking to each other, but they love each other like crazy. You know when I found the older boy, he was crying because he thought he lost his brother in the war. He wanted to go search for his brother. He wanted to kill the soldiers because he thought his brother was gone. If it weren't for the fact that he knew what his brother would have wanted then I am sure the boy would have gone through with his plan. Thankfully, they found each other when my group came to the desert. They have been inseparable since."

"Losing the people you love does that to you."

And wouldn't she know that all so well? Edward, Alphonse and her clung to each other because they were afraid to lose another person again. It was why Edward was so overprotective over her. When some boy made some stupid comment about how she looked weird for her whisker marks, Edward punched him.

She had been grateful but as she had yelled at her brother later; she could take care of herself.

* * *

" _ **You truly are planning to leave them in the night? I thought this goes against everything you stand for!"**_ Kurama asked as Emma scribed down a note in the tent that she had been provided with. She scowled at the fox for pointing out her dislike for leaving without a face-to-face goodbye. Still, what could she do? The old woman would probably insist of sending her there if she could do. Emma could not allow the woman to waste any more resources on her.

" _Didn't I also have a moto that says rules were meant to be broken?"_ Emma asked sarcastically to the fox as she tied on the pale orange ribbon that Alphonse had given her for her last birthday. She did not need to hear it from the fox of all people. Staying here was doing no good in her journey of life. To be a good leader, she would need to see the world. She need to think what was better for the people here and letting them travel a desert because they were worried for her was not an option.

She could get there faster than them.

" _ **When you say those words, I truly believe that you have not change one bit. You have not forgotten who you are,"**_ Kurama said.

Emma froze at his words. What did he mean she forgot who she was? She was Emma Elric and Naruto Uzumaki. Did he think because she was no longer reckless that she forgot who she was? The memories of the dead did not let her forget of the person she had been. The loneliness she felt from her past life had not faded. Her love for life had never changed. Her desire to protect her loves one had never faded from her heart.

The only difference now was that she was no longer a naïve fool. Naruto thought that the world problems could be solved when the war was over. She believed when her teammate came back then they could start a relationship. Foolish Naruto never thought about the fact what her teammate did would never be forgiven. Her foolish self would never think of the consequence of her teammate's action.

She would never think just how toxic her relationship with Sasuke and Sakura had been.

" _ **And what made you think about it?"**_ Kurama asked.

Her two brothers of course. She imagined if her brothers had a team like her and how she felt if they were treated the way she had been. It pissed her off thinking about the amount of abuse they would go through. Being hit for every small comment? That was just plain old abuse. Having their emotions manipulated so they could do what their friend wanted? No way, she would accept it.

If Winry had hit Edward in the chest till the point he died, Emma would think her brothers were crazy for loving her.

Maybe, Gaara and Shikamaru were right when he said that she was a fool at times.

Emma shook her head and slipped on her shoes before quietly zipping her tent up. She licked her dried lips, wrapped her hair with her pink scarf and stared out at the scene in front of her. So many tents. All of them filled with people, who lost their homes and families because of the stupid war.

It was all the government fault.

Where was the money going? Emma thought, clenching her hands into a fist. What the hell was the Furher thinking? The memory of the furious boy flooded into her mind and she felt her temper rising to new heights. The money should go to orphanage. It should go to the people who were innocent. It should not be spent on the military. It should be spent on hospitals.

This country was sick, Emma thought, looking at the ruins. It was filled with disease and she was going to get rid of the source. Once she find the source, Emma swore of the men fallen that she would rid the world of it.

She was going to rid the world of it.

With that thought, Emma placed her bag down, opened it and pull out a scroll. Biting her lips into her thumb, she placed a drop of blood into the scroll and took out the art tools that Winry gotten her for her birthday.

"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" She yelled, smiling widely as her clones appeared. Nodding her head, she ordered them to begin painting the ruins.

When she had been Naruto, she had painted the monuments to get attention. She had been a girl starved for attention. She had been selfish and greedy for her desire for it. Not once she thought of using her talents to help people. Naruto never thought of a better way to channel her talents of the art.

Emma was different.

With that thought, she closed her eyes and begin to paint the ruins with the images of these wonderful people. They might not think much of their kindness. These people would think it was ordinary but to Emma, it was not. She wanted these people to be remembered.

She wanted them to know that she was grateful for their kindness. Emma longed for them to know that they were worth more then what the government thought. She wanted them to know that the world was still filled with kindness.

What better way then to do it by painting it?

" _ **One day Naruto, you will need to harden your heart,"**_ Kurama warned her as she helped her clones paint it. " _ **There will be people that will take advantage of your heart. You might think you have change but there are certain aspects that haven't changed about you."**_

" _Harden my heart? I have been betrayed by the person I thought I loved!"_ Emma snapped. " _I know betrayal but I won't let it affect the way I see the world. The world is still kind and these people proved it to me."_

She would not let the past cloud her judgement.

* * *

It took her a day to reach Xing, which was a lot longer then she anticipated.

Of course, she did not consider about her desire for food.

The capital of Xing was everything and nothing Emma imagined. The people looked similar to each other with their dark hair and eyes yet, there was a difference between them and the people of her country. Where there was a sense of wariness in her country, there was a sense of carefreeness in the people. Sure, some of them looked like they would harm her but it felt like she could breath.

" _Oh? A child foreigner! And an exotic one at that!"_

Emma felt her eyebrows twitched as she stared at the vendor, who did not bother to stop ogling her whisker marks. She did not understand completely what the man said but she understood bits. There were bits in his words which hinted of his plans for her.

She stared at the man, folded her arms against her chest and continued walking.

If the man made one move on her then Emma would show him what she was. A child she might look but she had the memories of her past life. She knew how to defend herself. She had her chakra and alchemy to protect her. If all else fails, she knew the exact parts where to hit him.

For now, she would need to play the part of the innocent foreigner.

Shaking her head, Emma continued moving forward. _Brush_. She blinked her eyes, looked up to see dark curious eyes staring at her and said her apologizes. Be polite was what her mother would tell her. She stopped walking once she realized someone was staring at her.

Turning her body around, she looked at the boy, who could not be any older then her. By his side was a girl, who flickered her eyes at him and then at her. Why was he staring at her? She asked herself, touching her cheeks. Was her whisker marks that weird? The people in the desert never stared at her.

She shook her head and shrugged her shoulder, flipping her long hair away.

" _ **You think he is another reincarnated soul?**_ " Kurama asked her as she continued walking through the streets.

Emma snorted. Another reincarnated soul? Perhaps but he looked nothing like the people in her previous life. It might be foolish of her but reincarnated souls looked like their past life. Sure she looked like her parents but there were bits of her that still bled through from her past life.

" _Maybe but I never met him before,"_ Emma finally answered. _"I think he is staring at me because I stand out in a crowd of dark-hair people."_

" _ **Yeah, you look like a weirdo."**_

Emma felt her eyebrows twitched at his words but made no comment. She placed her hands into her hips and continued walking through the streets, ignoring the stares that she was receiving. She smiled at the people, who stared at her and whispered to each other.

In some ways, she remember Naruto's life but unlike the past, Emma knew these were not the stares of people who wanted her dead.

These were people that were curious.

She stopped walking once she heard footsteps. Who was following her? Was it the boy? Or was it that creepy vendor? She licked her lips, flickered her eyes to the streets and spotted a dark alleyway. If she was an ordinary girl, it would be stupid for her to go there.

In the books, girls that looked like her would get raped and stolen.

Emma was not those girls.

Smiling at the people around her, she dashed towards the alley. Turning her body around, she kicked the person that was following her.

 _Crash._

It was the creep that followed her, Emma thought angrily, staring at the man slumped against the wall. She wanted to cut his balls out but it was wrong. It would only satisfy her but it would not make him learn. Killing him would be an option. The world would be better without people like him.

Yet the man might have a family that needed him.

" _Wow, she really hit him hard!"_

Emma blinked her eyes and scanned the alley to find the source of the voice. She felt her lips twitched when she realized it was the boy from before. The girl was no longer with him, she noticed dimly, tilting her head at him. He had a smile and his eyes were closed as he stared at her.

" _You know she can hear you?"_ Emma retorted. " _Why are you following me? Did you have some insane idea of saving me?"_

" _So you do know our language! I thought you did though your tongue is more old style,"_ the boy stated, jumping down. He tilted his head, stared at the fallen man and then to her. _"And why would I save you? You look like you can protect yourself."_

" _Then why did you follow me?"_

The boy shrugged his shoulder. _"You look interesting. People from Amestris rarely come here especially a kid like you! Why did you come here?"_

Interesting? And how would he know where she was from? Wait, she was stupid for thinking that last questions. Still what part of her was interesting? Was it her foreign looks? Maybe. If he thought she was going to go with him and have some kind of perverted fun then the idiot had another thing coming.

" _I want to see and understand other people's culture! I thought the first culture to see was here."_

" _Has the people of Amestris finally came around to learning our language?"_

Emma blinked her eyes. _"What? I don't know. I don't think so."_

" _Then how do you know the old way of speaking?"_

The blonde felt her lips twitched and replied. " _I taught myself."_

The boy flickered his eyes at her and then to his whisker marks. " _Work for me."_

"What?" She yelled.

The boy grinned. "You have no money don't you? Your clothes indicate that you have nothing on you and even if you did, it would not be enough to help you. You are a good fighter and from your senses, I can tell that you will be a great bodyguard."

"Bodyguard? Why the hell would I protect you? And how the hell do you know my language?"

"I'm a prince and I will become Emperor one day."

And that was the story of how Emma met the annoying Ling.

* * *

A/N: I know the meeting between them was not something great but this came into my head and it refused to go out of my mind. Please tell me what you think about this chapter.


	9. Chapter 9

A/N: Thank you for taking the time to review the last chapter and for adding this story to your favourites and follows.

* * *

" _Why is there a foreigner with you, your highness? And where is Fan?"_

Emma felt her lips twitched at the blatant disrespect from one of the guards, who did not bother to even avert his eyes from her whisker marks. Why did she agree to work for this prince again? It was the money. She did not have any currency from this region. She did not have a place to stay. Also, the boy made a compelling argument about her lack of resources here.

The only problem with the job occupation was the fact that she was going to be basically babysitting a prince that loved to wander around.

" _Emma is going to be my bodyguard,"_ Ling answered, smiling widely at his gawking guard. The guard stared at her, then to the prince before again looking at her. No doubt, he was thinking if the prince lost his mind when he said a girl was going to protect him. Correction, she looked like a delicate little girl that could not protect herself. " _And I don't know where Fan is."_

" _You wander away from her again, didn't you!"_ The guard yelled. " _Your highness, how many times did your lady mother told you not to do this? With your older brother being blind, you are the only one in this clan that has some hope of becoming Emperor. You do not have the freedom to wander as you please! What if one of your siblings wished to kill you?"_

Emma did not miss the way the prince's shoulder tensed at the mention of his older brother. Blind? What was wrong with a prince being blind? He was alive. Did that not matter to them? Was the boy's mother not happy to have a son alive? Then again, a blind prince meant that the Emperor did not respect them that much. They did have some strange beliefs if what she remembered was true.

" _My half-siblings know better than to kill me in the streets,"_ the prince declared. " _And I will have Emma here to protect me along with Lan Fan."_

The guard narrowed his eyes, stared at her and then to the prince before shaking his head. No doubt, he believed his master had gone crazy to think that a little girl like her could protect him. Actually, the prince was crazy because who just makes demands? A crazy person that was it. He was lucky that she needed the money or else she would never agree to protect his ass when he had people to do it for him.

" _You think a little girl like her should have the honour of protecting you?"_ The man sneered.

" _This little girl will kick your ass if you keep talking like she does not understand a word you say,"_ Emma snarled, slamming her feet on the ground. _"I don't like it when people talk about me behind my back."_

" _S-She knows how to speak our language? Why didn't you mention this Master?"_

" _I thought it was obvious."_

The guard groaned while Emma shot the prince a dirty look. How dare he not mention it to his guards that she understood every word spoken by them? Did he think it was amusing for them to find out in the last minute that she knew how to speak the old form of their language? This was a bastard that she could not stand.

" _Where is my brother? I think he will like to see Emma."_ Ling said, smiling widely at the gaping guard. The teen grinned. " _It has been so long since I have a loving talk with my brother."_

" _Your highness! Do you wish to go against your mother's wish?"_ The guard yelled as Ling pushed past him. Emma furrowed her eyebrows, scratched her head before rushing after the prince. What was so bad about his brother? Was there something that she did not know about? God, this country was just so confusing.

How could she ever think that Xing was like Konoha?

She felt her blood rushed to her face as she weaved through the clan compound, following the distinct flow of chakra that emitted from the prince. Why would a mother forbid a son from seeing his brother? Was there something that she did not know? Wait. She remembered that the blind had never been treated nicely in Xing. It was a curse from the Gods, the books told.

Did she think her oldest son was a curse?

"You must wonder why I am breaking the rules, aren't you?"

Emma stopped running and looked up to see the prince standing on top of the roof. There was a smile on his face but it was stretched so wide that it reminded her of her past. Not happy was what she would describe him. She thinned her lipsl, nodded her head and watched as her boss jumped down from the roof. He dusted off the dirt from his clothes and stared out at the pond, where there were ducks waddling towards the water.

"They say that my brother had his sight until he was four years old," Ling said, leaning against the wall. He flickered his eyes towards their surroundings, tensing at the sound of the guards' yelling. Moving closer to the shadows, he looked at the pond. "Until then, he had been my mother's pride and joy for he was the first son that she birthed that lived. However, a fever came upon him and for a week, the clan was tensed that he lived. They say my mother went to the temple and prayed for his health while our father grew angry. The fever broke…but his sight had been lost."

"And your mother wished he had died instead, didn't she?"

Ling did not answer, just turned his body away and continued to walk towards the direction of the smallest room. She did not need to know what his answer was. The silence and the pain emitting from the prince was all she needed to know that the answer was yes. She did not know what to feel if her mother wished for her siblings to be dead.

She could not imagine his pain.

* * *

" _Huang, I'm here to see you!"_

Ling did not wait to hear his brother's answer before sliding the door open. Drawing again, he mused, staring at his brother who had his eyes closed as he held the brush close to his chest. Who was he drawing this time? Was it that pretty, sad girl again? Or was it the blood of the battlefield again? It was a wonder how his brother knew what the world outside looked like without any sight.

" _Ling, how many times have I told you to knock before entering my room? And who did you bring with you? And don't say Fan because I can tell from this person's footsteps that she is not your usual shadow,"_ his brother said, not bothering to look up from the scroll in his hands.

" _I found myself a new bodyguard,"_ Ling replied to his brother, taking his usual seat in front of his brother. He smiled when his brother dropped his brush and looked at him with his milky black eyes with a hint of suspicion. There was a gasp from Emma but he presumed it was because she had never seen a blind person before. " _Her name is Emma Elric."_

" _Emma Elric? Why does that sound very foregin?"_

" _Because it is,"_ Emma replied tensely, looking everywhere but at his brother.

His brother tensed and twisted his head to look at Emma, who now had a coldness in her eyes that Ling had never seen before. It was not the same icy coldness his mother had when she stared at his brother. No, it was the same coldness his father had when his mother introduced his daughter. Why was she like this? Huang had never been outside the house.

" _Emma Elric? That name does not suit you,"_ his brother replied, swatting Ling's hand away when he tried to help his brother take a sip of his tea. " _It sounds too feminine and smart. You seem like you are a girl that isn't all that smart or feminine."_

This was not his brother's normal behaviour! Huang was always polite, especially to girls so why was he treating Emma different? Ling glanced at the blond-haired girl, who now had her hands clenched into a fist. From the tightness of her jaws, he could see that it was taking all of her willpower not to hit his brother.

" _Perhaps Emma Elric does not sound all that smart or feminine but it was the name given to me by my deceased mother. At least I had a mother who loved me,"_ Ling shot a warning look at his bodyguard but the blonde just ignored him. She had a fire in her eyes. " _And I am smart enough to know that I do not want the past to happen again. At least I am smart enough to learn from my mistakes."_

His brother clenched his hands into a fist and there was a flare from his nostrils that told Ling about the level of anger his brother was in. Blind he might be but Huang was able to destroy things when he was furious enough. What the hell was Emma thinking? No, she did not know his brother. She did not know what he can be like when furious.

" _And what mistakes did you make?"_ Huang snapped.

" _I made the mistake of trusting someone that I shouldn't have,"_ Emma snarled. " _I made the mistake of pleading for his life, only for him to throw it in my face. I made the mistake of leaving my brothers alone just so I can wander the world. I made the mistake of wanting to live my life."_

" _Ling, leave me with your bodyguard."_

" _Why?"_

" _I wish to talk to her."_

" _And you can't talk in front of me?"_

His brother narrowed his eyes and Ling sighed.

Great, if he wanted to be on his brother's good side then he would need to leave them alone.

* * *

"After all these years, you are still furious with me."

Angry? How dare he just say those words? She died because of him. Huang might be the beloved older brother of Ling but he was still Sasuke. He was still the bastard who killed her. He was the reason that everything was crap. He was the reason that she had nightmares of her death. He was the reason that the war went far longer then it should have. He had hurt her in every possible way! Did he think she was the same? She could never forget what he did.

"You murdered me in cold blood, Sasuke," Emma snarled. "You murdered me despite saying that you loved me. You are the reason that every time I closed my eyes, I see my death being replayed. I thought I loved you. I was willing to do anything for you but you didn't have the same decency."

She did not know where her fury was coming from but the sight of seeing Sasuke, no Huang (she reminded herself) being blind was the last straw. They made it seem like he was the victim but would they think like that if they knew the truth? Would they know how ungrateful he was for having the love of everyone in the village? Did they know how he gave up everything for power? No, they did not know.

Only she knew the truth.

" I did a lot of bad things," Huang said, putting down his tea and staring right into her eyes. "I murdered my older brother because I thought he deserved it. I deserted the village for power, leaving you with the burden of bringing me back. I killed you because I did not like the idea of you being stronger then me. To make me pay for my sins? The truth took away my sight and my new mother's love. He made me the most hated person in this kingdom and for what? Because he wanted me to feel the same pain that you felt. I can tell that you still have your memories, that you have your sight but most of all you still have your chakra. Truth allowed me to sense with my chakra but I can't access it like you can."

Truth did what?

" _ **Truth allowed you to pass on without giving a thing up,"**_ Kurama told her. " _ **You were everything that was good and to repay you for that goodness in you, he allowed you to keep everything. He took away everything that Sasuke valued so that he understand his crimes."**_

Was that true? Wait, she remembered Truth just letting her go and telling her that she was lucky. There was no toll to be paid, he told her as she debated about whether or not to be reincarnated. What you went through and what you sacrificed for your country was enough were his words. She was a hero and that was his reasoning for letting her be reincarnated.

"You must be lucky Naruto," Huang said but there was no trace of bitterness in his words; it was like he accepted the fact. "I wondered for years whether Truth would be kind to you and gave you all the things that you longed. You have brothers? Maybe a loving mother and father too. It seemed like our roles are reversed."

"You don't know a damn thing Sasuke!" She yelled. "I have two brothers but they are far away from me. They want to go through a path that I won't accept, a path that might lead them to danger but they won't listen. A loving mother and father? My mother was loving but she died from a sickness that I couldn't cure or diagnosis. Your life is hard but my life is still hard."

He stared at her, tilted his head upwards before looking at her with a pained look in his eyes that she just wanted to punch him. He hurt her in every way possible. How many times did she try to reason with him? How many times did they fight over his stupidity? How many times did she went on her knees and beg for him to go back home to them? She hated the fact that he made her so weak.

"You know everyone thought that you were the reckless one," Huang said. "Everyone always thought because you did pranks without a care that you were reckless. The council had more eyes on you then me and that was their biggest mistake. They thought because they treated you like shit that you would abandon them. They never believed the person they treated well would hurt them in the worse way. Sakura thought you were reckless and wanted attention but you were never like that. You were reckless when it came to emotions but you always knew better."

"Sasuke…"

"You knew when to prank and the exact weakness of every clan compound," Huang continued. "You know I envied you for that because my original father respected you for it. You were able to train his officers to be more viligant and you know that. You gave him hints on how to improve it…you pranked people because you wanted the village to improve. You had no one but you wanted to protect the village like there was no tomorrow."

Why was he being like this? He had never been like this before.

"I hated you at one point," Emma staggered back at his words and the older boy looked out at the window. "Did you know that when I was given my brother's memories that I saw how much he loved you? He taught you to read and write. He told you stories. He did all the things that he promised to do with me but never did. I hated you for that but I saw how much you loved him. I realize now why it killed you when you found out that my brother became a missing nin."

"What are you trying to do?"

"I always wondered if you loved me or if you loved my brother," Emma blinked her eyes. "I didn't miss how you lit up at the sight of my brother. I didn't miss a single thing…which is why I asked you if we lived, if you would have been in a relationship with me."

He wanted the answer to his dying question.

"I loved Itachi but not in the way you thought," Emma whispered. "He was like my big brother. He did all the things that no one ever did to me. If you saw his memories then you know, all he ever talked about was you. If you asked me that question a few years ago , I would have told you that I would have been in a relationship with you…"

"And now?"

"You murdered me in cold blood," Emma whispered. "You used my emotions against me. You made me feel bad about myself when all I wanted was to feel good about myself. We always fought for the stupidest things. You never thought about me. Now that I have brothers, I asked myself if I wanted them in that relationship."

"And?"

"I would tell them that they were crazy," she answered, staring right into his eyes. "You think I support a relationship that is abusive? I saw my new parents' relationship and I want that for myself. I want someone that makes me want to be a better person…and being with you, would have made me the worse person. You always put me down. Sakura might be happy with that relationship, Naruto would have been because she did not know love but I won't."

"Aren't you Naruto Uzumaki?"

"I am Emma Elric too," She declared. "I am going to become the Furher and the Furher must never make a choice that seems stupid. Being in an abusive relationship is one of them."

"And you think I would be one?"

"You didn't change did you? You have been trying to manipulate me to go back to you and I won't do that. I would rather die again then do this."

"I deserve better than you."

And with those words, she walked out to find the prince and leaving behind a thoughtful Huang.

* * *

A/N: Please review and I know these chapters are short but I don't have much insipiration. I hope you like this chapter and the meeting of a reincarnated Sasuke and Naruto.


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: I would like to thank everyone who reviewed the last chapter and added this story to their favourites and follows. I'm happy that people found the meeting of reincarnated Sasuke and Naruto to be interesting as well as emotional because that was the hope that I had for the last chapter.**

* * *

The Capital was filled with so many poor people, Emma thought, flickering her eyes around the people as Ling examined each vendor. On her left was Fan, who was wearing an animal mask similar to the mask worn by the ANBU. Why wasn't the Emperor doing anything for these people? There had to be several starving children in this street alone. God, she complained about the treatment in her home but this was way worse.

"Anything for the pretty lady, my Prince?" The vendor asked. "I think this hair pin will go splendidly with her bright hair."

Emma tore her eyes away from the people and stared at the hair accessory that the vendor was suggesting for her to wear. Bright blue hair pin enclosed with beautiful jewels that she had no idea what to name. She scoffed and glanced at Fan, who had tensed at those words. Perhaps it should have been better for her to wear the mask, at least Fan would not feel hurt that people acknowledge her as a female.

Or the very least the Prince.

"I think she will murder me if I give her a gift," Ling declared, laughing as the vendor slumped his shoulders. "Actually, I am trying to find that embedded scroll and brush set you have; my brother just finished all of his."

The vendor tensed at the mention of Huang but did as the prince asked, bringing out the scroll and brush. A pretty gift, she mused to herself as Ling inspected the scroll and brush. A suitable gift for someone who could no longer fight the way he could before. The only question was he going to appreciate it? Emma did not know how much Huang changed from their last life but he had always been a spoiled brat.

"You're lucky that none of your other brothers or sisters have come to buy it, my Prince," The vendor declared as Ling handed him the money for the gift. "I had so much trouble getting it from the neighbouring country. Would you also like the book containing the Legends of the people before us?"

"You mean the tale of Naruto?" Ling asked, wrinkling his nose. "No! My brother always hated when someone tells him that legend and I do too…what kind of warrior story ends with a happy ending?"

"Who says they had a happy ending?" Emma questioned him. "People can alter the story to make it fit the way they want to see it."

"Indeed," the vendor agreed. "There are many accounts on what happened to Naruto and Sasuke on the day of their battle. Most people say that they fixed the world before running away to have their happy ending while few say that Naruto and Sasuke did indeed killing each other. No one is certain on what happened to them."

 _Except for me and Huang,_ Emma thought as Ling flickered through the pages of the book. Did they have their happily ever after? It depended on what people thought was a happy ending. To some people, two people dying was not a happy ending and in some ways what happened to them did not give the ending they deserved. Yet, she had been contempt when dying. She saved the world, told Sakura how to undo the curse and died with a smile on her face.

This had been Naruto's happiness.

Would it be Emma's happiness?

She did not know.

What would be her happiness? She wondered as the three of them continued to make their way through the busy streets. For the past couple of years, she had only focused on planning how to become the Fuhrer. Not once did she wonder about what would make her happy in the long end. Seeing her brothers and friends happy definitely, but what else? She thinned her lips and tilted her head.

"I'm surprised you know the story of Naruto and Sasuke," Emma blinked her eyes at the smiling prince. "The only people who know the tale of Naruto and Sasuke are the people from this country. The people from your side of the world has no care about some silly eastern legend."

Emma turned her head and narrowed her eyes at him. "What the hell do you mean some silly eastern legend? The story of Naruto and Sasuke isn't some silly legend. There is a lot of truth in that legend."

"Like what?" The prince raised his thin eyebrow at her while Fan stopped to look at them. "You expect me to believe that a girl that good existed? What kind of girl would just smile and forgive the people that hurt her? No one is like that. If she had all that power then why didn't she try for revenge? Nothing about the tale make sense."

The blonde rubbed the sides of her head, stared hard into the boy's eyes and replied. "Naruto forgive because she thought if she was in their shoes that she would understand. She thought if she became stronger or became the leader then no one would hurt her. There were people that treated her well, people who made her realize that the world was not as cruel as thought it was. What would revenge accomplish for her? It would just cause more destruction…maybe that was her way of thinking. She saw what it did to her friend and decided that she did not want to walk on the same path as him."

She never wanted to cause the same pain that he caused to their friends. The moment she had her chance on revenge against Nagato, she could not even force herself to do it. It would have been worthwhile. It would have healed the ache in her heart but then what? Killing him would not stop the cycle Jiraya had wanted to stop. Killing him would just continue on this stupid cycle of hate.

"It's funny," Ling said, drawing her attention back to him. "You and my brother have the same opinion on why she did what she did, although my brother calls her a symbol of everything good and pure in the world. Do you also think like that?"

She stopped walking at the mention of what Huang thought of her previous self. Everything that was good? Had she been that symbol? Maybe if Emma compared herself to him then yes. Yet, she was not all that good. Naruto had hated people and there had been times when she wished for people to die. Even now, Emma still had those wishes. The only difference was that she did not act on them. In fact, she squashed it down and forgave them, even if her heart screamed at her to never forgive.

"No one is completely good," Emma finally answered. "The girl in the legend may seem good but I am sure she had done things that she wished she never did."

There must have been something in her words that made Ling stop and stare at her but, Emma was too terrified to know what the boy was thinking.

It was irrational but she felt like he knew the truth.

* * *

"You know it will be nice if my bodyguard doesn't hate your guts then I won't have to worry about her beating you up."

Huang sighed and rubbed his temple before turning his head to the wall, where Ling was certainly leaning against on. Two different footsteps were heard, which meant it was Ling and Fan who came to visit him. Naruto, no, Emma decided not to come here, he corrected himself, dropping his calligraphy pen on the table. Not that he could blame her. There was too much history between them, history that she would never ever forget…or forgive.

"She has her _reasons_."

"Don't you think it is unfair for her to judge you before getting to know you?"

If she had been anyone then yes but Huang knew the truth about Emma Elric. In fact, he could practically picture what the girl looked like or rather what he thought she looked like. The same blond hair and those eyes. Those eyes that might have been in pain when he asked her that question. Those whisker marks he used to long to touch but never had the chance to.

He probably would never get the chance.

"She has her reasons," Huang said, pulling himself out of his chair. "For all you know, she might just hate the idea of me."

"If she really wants to be the leader of her country then shouldn't she be fairer to the disabled?" Ling questioned. The tapping against the wall spoke volumes of the frustration that his baby brother had. No one was perfect and Naruto was not an exception, Huang mused, sipping his tea. He clicked his tongue when he felt the burn of the tea. She used to be so loud and so helpful but then war changed people.

He changed her in ways that he wished he did not.

"Who is to say that she only treats me like crap for no reason?" He could feel the slight flicker in his brother's chakra, earning a smile from him. That got his attention. Picking up one of the empty cups, Huang pushed it towards his brother. "What do you think of this cup, Ling?"

"It's pretty," Ling answered with a tone of hesitance.

"Pretty?" Huang traced the features of the cup and shook his head. "It might look pretty but it has history too. This cup was made by people that worked hard on it and it was passed around by a lot of people before it came to us. You know what else? It is also dangerous. If I were to drop it then I will get a cut. I am like this cup, you see…"

"Isn't that arrogant of you?"

He rolled his eyes at his baby brother's words. "Very funny, Ling. I might look harmless to you but Emma thinks differently than you. She might think that I am more dangerous than my disability allows me to be. I might have insulted your bodyguard by calling her dumb but, she is not that dumb."

 _Not that she was ever dumb in the first place,_ Huang thought, thinning his lips as the memories of Itachi teaching Naruto flooded his mind. He insulted her just so he could see whether her temper was still the same. Every word he said to her was a lie but Naruto would never know the difference. He never allowed her to see how much he cared for her until they were dying in the battlefield. He never showed her how much he valued her intelligence because god knew that the real planner in their team had been her.

She was the one making insane plans that seemed to work.

She had been the one to comfort him when he lost everything and he hated how badly he treated her kindness. He hated the fact where once her voice used to be filled with joy whenever she saw him was now filled with anger and hurt, hurt he caused by killing her and betraying her.

He should start showing her that he was sincerely sorry for hurting her the way he did in their past life. If they could never be together then the least he could do was help her in weaving her way through the jungle of this terrible family's politics.

"I can tell you that," Ling retorted. "She knows how to speak the old form of our language and it is even perfect too! She claimed that she taught herself but the way she speaks is like one of us. You can't even hear a slight accent."

 _That is because Emma is Naruto,_ he mused, tilting his head to where he was certain Fan was standing. Having lived as Naruto, Emma must have remembered the way they spoke their language and the way to pronounce every word. However knowing her, she might be speaking in the informal language and Ling did not realize that. His brother was smart but he was never good in picking up the subtle clues of the old language when it was informal.

Not that it was Ling's fault, his mother deemed it to be unnecessary for her son.

"She speaks perfectly," Huang finally agreed, narrowing his eyes when he heard his brother walking towards him. His brother stopped before resuming his place again in front of him. Ling grabbed the hot cup of tea from his hands, placed it on a table and if Huang could see, his brother must be staring disapprovingly at him for touching something hot.

Sometimes he wondered who was the older brother.

"Not only that but she knows of our legend too," Ling said eagerly. "She knows the story of Naruto and Sasuke but she does not seem to think it is some silly legend. She even has the same thought as you on why the heroine did not wish to kill."

Of course she would, Emma was Naruto.

He did not know how she looks but her voice was nearly the same. The only difference was that her voice sounded more girly then before, or maybe it was because she finally accepted her gender. As Naruto, the girl dressed and acted like a boy, turned away from anything remotely girly. To be a good kunoichi, she thought she needed to act like the opposite of Sakura.

In some ways she was right but Huang now wondered if it affected her mentally.

"Do you think the legend was true?"

"Which part?" Huang asked, clenching his hands into a fist. "The part where they live happily ever after or the part where Naruto loved Sasuke to the point that she was willing to do anything for him…even die?"

"Both I guess."

"No to the first part and yes to the second part," Huang replied, slumping against his chair as he thought about the past that he longed to erase from his mind. "We don't know the whole history of Naruto and Sasuke, except for the fact they were the best of friends and that they were in a team. They must have loved each other but Naruto must have realized she could do better than the boy who hurt her."

"If she thought she could do better than him, then why die? If they lived then they must have their happily ever after and the idea that we are descendants of them would make sense."

 _This family descendants of mine? I thank Truth for not allowing this to happen,_ Huang mused, gritting his teeth as he remembered the fury in the Emperor's voice when he realized he became blind. The man he was forced to call father in this life was a _monster_. He ignored the poor, craved for power and immortality. Instead of spending money on helping the people, he spent it on useless things that claimed to make him immortal. When he became blind, the Emperor decided that he had no use for a blind son.

It had been his grandmother from his mother's side that informed that woman that abandoning a blind child was going to bring more trouble from the gods.

He knew that the old woman knew better.

"Naruto was the type of person that was willing to do anything for her friend," Huang said, closing his eyes as he remembered all the things she had done for the people around her. "If she thought that killing each other would ease Sasuke's pain then she would do it. I don't know if you notice the subtle hints but it is hinted that Naruto was reckless when it came to her life."

"Do you know why?"

"Because she thought her life was useless when she had no family to care for," Huang replied. "You might think the legend of Naruto and Sasuke is simple but the reality is, if you ever try to think deep about it then you will realize how complex it can be. In fact, the whole legend is complex."

And it became even more complex with them being reincarnated.

* * *

With Ling being with his brother, Emma decided to look through the texts. The prince told her that as long as she worked for him then everything was free. Before she would go for the things that looked cool, but now Emma longed for the books. She needed to see if her brothers' insane plan could actually work if they did it another way. There was no way she was helping them bring their mother back but just to be certain, it was best to check.

Fingering the scroll, Emma recalled the days where she would whine and complain about reading books. Sakura always rolled her eyes at her, telling her that it was important for her to read. Sasuke? He just snorted and hit her in the back of the head with a scroll before telling her to read the book. Those were the days. Things had been simpler then. She had never considered how abusive and toxic their relationships were but now she was forced to see it.

She stopped fingering the scroll when she caught the word Alchemist.

Pulling the scroll out, Emma made her way to the table and unrolled the scroll. Curiosity killed the cat was a saying that her second mother would always say whenever she and her brothers had been too curious for their own good. Edward, sweet little Edward, would just roll his eyes at their mother before pointing out that the cat would have been satisfied with his knowledge. Mother always laughed, telling her brother that he was just too smart for his own good.

Emma used to agree but ever since their mother's death, she doubted her brother's intelligence.

"A foreigner in our library."

Twirling her body around, the blonde was taken back by the sight of an old woman standing behind her. How could she not notice her? Had she been that engrossed with her thoughts that an old lady could sneak up on her? God damn it, this was not like her. Next time, she must pay attention to her surroundings.

"Why are you here, girl?" The old lady placed her cane against Emma's rib and narrowed her eyes. "No one informed me that we were having foreginers coming into the house. I leave to visit my other daughters and this is what happened."

Emma blinked her eyes. "I'm Ling new bodyguard."

"Ling?" Emma nodded her head and the old woman thinned her lips. "That boy is more trouble than he is worth. How many times must one tell him not to pick up someone because they are needy or pretty? Tell me girl, did you seduce that boy in saying those lies. Tell me the truth, are you his girlfriend?"

"No!" She screeched, putting her hands on her face in the hopes of hiding her red-face. Mistress? She might look nine years old and have the developing body of a twelve-year-old but her mind was that of a twenty-six year old woman. Just the mere thought of kissing an innocent boy like Ling made her want to hurl all her food contents to the ground. "I'm really his bodyguard and besides, I'm just nine! I'm too young to be his girlfriend!"

She hoped that was a reasonable explanation.

The old woman burst out laughing and shook her head. "Too young? I wish I used that excuse on my father when he forced me to marry that boy's grandfather. There are kids, your age, that are already married."

"Yeah and I'm not one of them," Emma pointed out. "And I've no interest in getting married anytime soon…also my brother will kill me if he finds out that I started to date behind his back."

Chuckling, the old woman grabbed a seat and gestured for her to take a seat. The blonde thinned her lips, opened her mouth to argue with her but only to close it when the old woman narrowed her eyes at her. What could she do to her? It was not like she could forbid her from staying here, could she? Actually, she would rather not risk it. If this old woman kicked her out then she would be living in the streets.

She really liked her comfy bed in this compound.

So reluctantly, she slid into the seat in front of the old woman.

"Overprotective big brother?" The old woman asked, quirking her eyebrows at her.

Emma sighed. "I don't only have an overprotective big brother but I also have an overprotective little brother. I think the fact that I'm the only girl in the family makes them think that I need protecting."

"It is a brother's thing," the old woman said, staring out at the window. "My brothers were also protective of me when I was young. My sons were very protective of Ling and Huang's mother, refusing her marriage to the Emperor, telling me that it was the biggest mistake she will make. I could not refuse the honour of being his mother-in-law but I wish I did."

Emma blinked and tilted her head at her. Why was this old woman telling her these things? Should it not be something private? For all that woman knows, she could tell Ling. She could even tell Sasuke if she felt like she had the energy and the strength to talk to him. Goodness knew, it took all of her willpower to talk to him.

"Why are you telling me this?" Emma asked. "You just met me."

The old woman quirked her lips, grabbed her hands and stared right into her eyes with a knowing look in her eyes. "Because you remind me of my eldest grandson. Out of all my grandchildren, I can ever only talk to Huang about my past because he has an old soul. You, my child, also have that same old soul. There is something about people with old souls that makes you want to talk."

Really? If that was the case then everyone would confess their sins to her but, no one ever did. Almost everyone, but her family and friends, treated her like she was just some little girl who did not understand the world. They thought she was too young to understand how this cruel world worked; none knew that she understood it all too well. So why did this woman notice?

"Why do you regret it?"

"I started to regret it when Huang became blind," Ling's grandmother answered, clenching her hands into a fist. "When he became blind, my daughter refused to see her son and for what reason? Because that stupid man thinks it is a sign from the Gods that he is stupid, a sign that he is bad luck. You know that boy? That boy is a hell lot brighter then any of his siblings and the Emperor refused to play the idea that he can be Emperor."

Sasuke? Emperor? The world would end if he became emperor. He had a temper so terrible that the world could shake from it. He would also have so much power that it was terrifying. Sasuke was always obsessed, always so insane that she feared what he would do with that power. Yet, Sasuke was also Huang. Huang was not a hundred percent Sasuke, just like she was not a hundred percent Naruto.

Maybe Huang did not have the same weakness as Sasuke but she would never forget the pain his past caused her.

"Ling could be Emperor."

Ling's grandmother sighed and shook her head. "Yes, he could but would he be happy? Right now that boy loves exploring the cities and getting into trouble, not reading the books of his ancestors left. He helps the people but he does not connect with them yet. I do not know if this will make him a good Emperor, and he also has very little desire to learn how to protect himself."

"But he does know how to protect himself."

"Yes, but his younger half-sister is a prodigy in an alchemist," the old woman said bitterly. "His older brothers are all accomplished in something, even Huang. My eldest grandson might be blind but he is a wonderful artist. Ling? Ling knows nothing except on how to escape his duties, how will the people remember him?"

"They will remember him as the Emperor that knew how to walk with them," Emma said firmly, grabbing hold of the woman's hand. "I might not know you but when your grandson strolled through those streets, almost everyone was happy to see him. He did not refuse to help the orphans, which is more than I can say for some people. He will be a good Emperor."

"What good will it be if his half-brothers plot for his demise?" Emma blinked her eyes at this news.

The old woman raised her eyebrow. "You did not consider my grandson would have people wishing him dead?"

"He sincerely acts like a kid," Emma stated. "You expect me to believe that they would take him that seriously?"

Ling's grandmother thinned her lips. "I shouldn't expect much from a child but that throne my son-in-law sit is the prize that every child of his wants. These people would do anything to get it, even kill their sibling to get it. Why do you think we have so many guards? There had been so many attempts on Ling's life."

What would be the point of getting the throne? Was that power worth it? In her past life, she saw just how tiring the weight it could be one person. How many times had she popped in to see Gaara, only to see him more exhausted then the last time she saw him? How many times did Konohamaru complained about having a Hokage as his grandfather because he couldn't play with him? The amount of paperwork alone was just too much.

Yet she wanted all of it. She wanted the power to improve the village, to create equality between everyone in the village but most of all the desire to see no more children becoming shinobi. Even though Naruto had been naïve, her past self always had a good reason of wanting to become Hokage. Despite what most people thought, Naruto had wanted to change the world and make it better for kids like her and Sasuke.

Even now as Emma, she still desired it.

"I will bet all of my life-savings that Ling would become the Emperor and will be the best Emperor that this whole country seen," Emma declared. "I bet on my dream that boy would survive every attempt on his life until the day he becomes emperor of Xing."

"And what makes you think he will become Emperor?"

"My name is Emma Elric and I'm going to become the future Fuhrer," she declared. "I won't protect someone I don't think will become my ally and when your grandson becomes Emperor then he will be my biggest ally!"

It was when she said those words, Emma realized that not all of Naruto's personality traits faded from her.

* * *

 **A/N: Please review and tell me what you think about this chapter. Also tell me what you think so far about Ling's relationship with Huang.**


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N:** This is an updated version because I have decided that I didn't really like the last two chapters. This chapter is very similar to the first one that I posted, but there are some differences from the original chapter 11. I just want to thank everyone that reviewed the last two chapters.

* * *

 _What is the difference between Amestris Alchemy and Xing Alchemy?_ Emma asked herself as she read the Alchemy book, which she borrowed from the clan's library. Would it be possible for the two alchemies to be combined? Was Xing Alchemy better suited for her seals? If she could find a way to make the three work then, in theory, she would be unstoppable. However, it depended on how hard it would be for her to master the Xing Alchemy. If it was very similar to sealing then it might not be difficult for her. Despite being reborn as Emma Elric, she still knew and practised her sealing arts.

She licked her lips and pulled out an orange pen from her pencil case. Not tearing her eyes from the book, the blond-haired girl grabbed her bright orange notebook and flipped it open. The first thing she noted down was the belief of the Xing people. These people seemed to hold the belief that there was a flow of life energy within the earth, which flowed from the tops of the mountain to the land. The description of their belief almost reminded her of how Iruka-sensei used to describe chakra to her, except for the fact that chakra was just a form of life energy. In this sense, Xing Alchemy could not bring the dead back to life. However, she could not jump to conclusions. It was not scientific of her until she found more proof.

Her train of thought was interrupted when she heard someone knocked on her door.

"Can I come in?"

Emma felt her shoulder stiffened when she heard Huang's smooth voice. Could she deny him the right of entry? It should be within her right to tell him that he should never even try to knock on her door. However, Ling's annoyed face flashed through her mind and the blond-haired girl pinched her nose. He would annoy her if he found out she denied his brother's entry. For all his silliness, Ling had eyes and ears everywhere. It would not surprise her if the servants working here were spying on her.

"Come in."

Huang slid the door open, peaking his head through the gap before sliding his whole body inside. The young girl shut her two books, placed them in the bedside drawer before focusing her attention on the boy, who hurt her in her past life. Huang showed no emotions as he fixed his milky black eyes on her.

How could he feel so impassive? She felt like she wanted to throttle him for all the things that he did to her.

"Why are you here, Huang?"

The black-haired boy faltered at her question but held his head high as he answered. "Do you still know how to make those silence seals?"

It might have been years since they last made contact, but Emma still knew her teammate. For him to ask her if she knew how to make silence seals meant that he wanted to make sure their conversation was not going to be overheard by the servants or even members of his clan. It seemed like she was not wrong to presume there were spies everywhere. Taking a deep breath, the girl pulled out her orange notebook and tore the last four page of the book. She quickly scribbled the characters needed for the silence seal before placing them in the four corners of her room.

"What is so important that you want me to keep our conversation quiet?"

"We need to have a talk and I don't want any of my siblings to know about our conversation," Huang replied. He flickered his eyes to the window, where the gardener seemed to be taking his time in cutting the flowers, before fixing his milky eyes on her. It seemed strange that despite his blindness that Huang still seemed to have some inking for when someone seemed interested to know about their conversation. "After all we need to have this conversation if we want things to run smoothly."

Emma could only thin her lips at Huang's words. Did he really believe she wanted to have a conversation with him? Maybe if he saw her five years ago when her mother was still alive, then she would be overjoyed to talk to him. When she had been chronically four years old and had the mind of a twenty-one-year-old, she would still have the ability to smile at him. She might even shed tears at that time because she thought they could be together. Then again, she had been so silly at the time. She did not understand until her mother died that no one deserved to be treated the way she had been treated. Only an idiot would deny how toxic their relationship had been.

She could not afford to be an idiot when she still had two brothers to worry about.

"If you want us to have a conversation then don't bother because I have no desire to talk to you." Emma kept her voice calm even if her heart was screaming at her to tear him apart. "I think I made it clear to you that I don't want to talk to you ever again. I don't want to see your face again because frankly, I can't forget about what you put me through in the last three years of my previous life. If it wasn't for the fact that your brother is paying me good money to protect him and your clan's interesting books then I would quit my job."

If it was not for the fact she wanted to confirm her theory that the dead could not come back to life then Emma would have left on the very first day. Huang might not be completely Sasuke but he was still Sasuke. No matter how many times she tried to tell herself this, she could not help but recall every bad thing he did to her. He reminded her of Naruto's stupidity. How could she love someone who never put her first? How could she love someone who tried to kill her? His actions tore her apart. She could never call herself a strong woman because she allowed her emotions to dictate her actions.

"As Sasuke Uchiha, I put you through a lot of grief." Huang took in a deep breath. "I killed you even though you loved me with all your heart, but can you look me in the eye and say that we always had bad times as Naruto and Sasuke."

Emma stared at Huang's earnest eyes. Despite the milkiness in his eyes, she could still see the hints of the old Sasuke. The Sasuke, before the massacre. The boy who acknowledged her when everyone else hated her. He had been the first person to eat ramen with her. He had been her first kiss and her first friend as Naruto Uzumaki. He had been the boy, who made her want to be stronger. He used to be the kid that always needed to be saved from the fangirls since rudeness never seemed to work for them. She felt her heart clenched as more memories of their happy times flooded into her mind.

Her heart broke into a million pieces as she recalled the night he left her.

Despite their closeness, Sasuke could gather the courage to tell Sakura goodbye but not her. Not the girl who had always tried to be there for him.

"You are a bastard, you know that? You have to remind me that I can't hate you." Emma took in a deep breath to control the whirlpool of emotions flooding through her body. "I can't hate you because you were everything to me when I was Naruto Uzumaki. You were the first kid to accept me for who I am. When everyone made fun about my tomboyish behaviour, you never cared about it. You acknowledged me and no matter what you did to me, I couldn't hate you."

Huang looked at her with those unnerving eyes and for someone who was blind, he wasn't afraid of making her doubt herself. Did she really hate him? She spent so many years loving him that it was hard for her to despise him. Fury was so different from hate. Hate meant she felt like he humiliated her when the reality was, she humiliated herself by allowing herself to think that their relationship could be anything but toxic.

She was also too tired to hate him because there was a benefit from her relationship with Sasuke. He might have caused her pain but he allowed her to see what kind of relationship she didn't want for her siblings. He made her stronger by making her focus on training. He might have insulted her but there had been times when he tried to help her train.

There might have been bad memories but Huang wasn't wrong to say that they had some happy times.

"You are right we had some good times but you treated me like I was shit." Emma reminded him. "But you aren't here to bring up about our past lives' relationship. What is actually bothering you, Sasuke?"

"Your behaviour, Naruto."

"I have been acting like my normal self around you and your brother." Emma straightened her back. "Just because I'm not insulting the both of you doesn't mean I am acting weird. It just means that I have matured since I know I must be in my best behaviour when I am around two princes."

Huang arched his eyebrow. "You are still a terrible liar, Naruto. You might have learnt to keep your tongue under control but you haven't learned to hide your anger at me from the public. If it was not for the fact that Ling is still a carefree boy then he would be trying to figure out why you hate me so much."

"You are overthinking things, Sasuke."

"If you want to continue with your trips to the library then you should go back to playing the girl that could never get angry with people." Huang traced the head of his cane. "Ling is putting up with your behaviour because he finds you interesting, but it will be a matter of time before he gets fed up with your behaviour. I don't want to see you kick out of the compound because you can't forget what I did to you."

The blond-haired girl could only stare at the older boy. How many times did she use to struggle for him to show some form of emotions to her? Sasuke Uchiha was always afraid to show some emotion but Huang seemed ready to plead with her. If it was not for the fact that she was on the bed, she might have fainted from the emotions that he was willing to show her.

"After all this time, you still give a shit about me?"

"I was a shitty friend to you but it didn't mean that I never stopped caring for you," Emma could only stare at her former best friend. "I might have wanted the power to revenge my family but I also used to dream of having a family. When I was Sasuke Uchiha, I dreamt of having a family with you. If things hadn't gone to hell, if Itachi never murdered my parents then I would have been working in Konoha Military Police Force or ANBU. We would have been married with three brats that had your eyes. As Sasuke Uchiha, I spent most of my life loving you."

 _And I you,_ Emma thought bitterly. It seemed like she was not the only one to think that they could have married each other. Naruto Uzumaki might never have thought about love but a part of her still wanted to have that normal life. Her previous self had believed that only Sasuke was the only one she loved. She never imagined having kids with him, though. However, Sasuke had thoughts of what their kids might have looked like.

He might have loved her but it seemed not enough to leave his path of vengeance.

"Do you really think we would have been married to each other?"

Huang leaned against his cane. "I would like to think that as Sasuke and Naruto, we would have been married to each other. You were the first and last girl that I had deep feelings for. You were the first girl who didn't give a shit about my family, which is why I liked you. You were strong, beautiful and not annoying…so you were the only girl that I would have been willing to marry."

Beautiful? Emma curled her lips into a bitter smile. As Sasuke, he never complimented her when it came to her looks. It was fine when she was Naruto, but now as Emma, she knew it was wrong for a potential love interest never to praise the person they love. Sure, her teammate had been scarred by his past, but it never meant she didn't want some compliment.

"You know we had terrible reasons for making our relationship work," Emma swallowed the lump, which formed inside her throat. "You were going to pick me because I was convenient, not because you actually loved me. I would have picked you because I wouldn't know any better since Naruto never knew what real love looks like."

"And you know now what real love looks like?"

Emma chewed on her bottom lip at Huang's question. Did she know what real love looks like? Her second parents loved each other but her second father never came back home from his journey. Her mother laid on her deathbed, waiting for her husband to come back home to her. Was that true love? Waiting for a man that seemed intent to stay away from his family. Yet she could still recall how her second mother would try and get her second father to dance to the radio. She could still remember the love which radiated between them.

There had to be a good reason for her father to leave them alone.

"I think I have a better picture of what it should be."

* * *

"What are you doing? You should be guarding me."

Ling folded his arms and pouted when he saw that Emma did not seem bothered to look up from her book. His bodyguard seemed to be highly engrossed in her book since she gave no indication she heard him. Instead, the girl flipped through another page, eyebrows knitted together as she consumed the book like it was her lifeline. He glanced at Lan Fan, who folded her arms and glared at her fellow bodyguard.

"I think it is obvious that I'm reading a book." Emma finally answered. "And I know for a fact that your brothers are not stupid enough to attack you in your home. Unless you want to inform me that your stepmothers are raising idiots, which I doubt is the case since the future Emperor shouldn't be an idiot."

The guards chuckled at Emma's comment and Ling felt his lips twitched downwards at the girl's blunt comment. Why wasn't Emma like the others? Most girls would be happy he was showering them with attention, but his bodyguard didn't seem to care one bit. Instead, the whiskered girl seemed more focus on her books than with him. It should please him that she was a professional but it still felt weird to know she was not utterly charmed by him.

Lan Fan enjoyed his attention even though she spent most of her life guarding him.

"I don't understand why you seemed more interested with a book than with me," Ling complained. "Most girls will be pleased that a prince is showing some attention to them."

"Most girls wear dresses, play dolls and act ladylike but I'm none of these things, so don't jump to the generalization that I am the same as those girls." Emma flipped to the next page of her book. "When I read a book then I'm learning something different, which is interesting. If I just focus all my attention on you then I will just watch in horror and amazement that even a prince can eat like a pig. Now since I don't want to ruin my perception of princes, I will go for the first one."

"You know that I am paying you, right?"

The blond-haired girl bobbed her head but made no indication to show that she cared about the implication. If his mother was here then she would be yelling at Emma for being so rude to him. The woman would tell her to get out since she was not doing her job properly. He should tell her to get out but the whiskered girl was interesting. Sometimes she acted like the perfect employee while other times, she acted like she gave no shit about his status in Xing.

 _What was she reading?_ Ling could not help but asked himself. He put down the chopsticks, which earned several confused looks from his servants and guards. Lan Fan looked at him with concern but he could only shake his head. He took a deep breath as he made his way to his foreign bodyguard, who seemed to be highly engrossed in her book. With a smile playing on his lips, he grabbed his bodyguard's book and looked at the title.

"Give me back my book?"

"Why are you reading a book about Xing's alchemy?" Ling tilted his head and skimmed at the page that his bodyguard had been reading. _Resurrection?_ Why was the girl interested in such a dark thing? He closed the book and stared closely at his fuming bodyguard. "Why were you reading about resurrection?"

"I wasn't reading about resurrection." she snatched the book from his hand. Emma slipped the book into her orange backpack before staring him right in the eye. Her blue eyes shone with honesty when she said, "I was reading about how your country's alchemy works, but it seemed like this author dedicated a whole chapter to it."

Ling couldn't help but feel like that there was more to his bodyguard's words.

"There is a legend that there was a power to bring the dead back to life," Ling commented, watching his bodyguard's reaction carefully. The girl stiffened but made no comment about the legend. He walked towards the dining table, picked up the apple and twirled it around. "They say that the power could bring anyone back to life but it is a silly legend."

"All legends are based on some truth," Emma replied, giving him a blank look. "However I presume that the power would have a gave consequence…maybe they bring back the dead but the user would die from using it. To bring back the dead would mean to sacrifice your soul for it, even then there is no guarantee that they would be the same person."

"You seem to have given a lot of thought about it."

"When you lose one of the most important people in your life then you have a lot of time to think about these things." Emma flickered her eyes to the window, where Huang seemed to be taking his stroll with their grandmother. Ling frowned when he saw the resignation and sadness in your eyes. "You will try to think of all the ways you could bring them back and if they were murdered then you would find ways to destroy the people who wronged you."

"Who did you lose?"

"My mother died when I was five," Ling blinked his eyes at the girl's admission. Emma smiled at him but the sadness seemed to be radiating through her eyes. For a moment, he wondered if the girl would be willing to cry in front of him. He would if he lost his mother, even if the woman showered him with attention because there seemed to be a chance for him to be an Emperor. "She meant the world to me and she was taken so soon. No one could heal her from her sickness."

"I am s…"

Emma waved him off. "If you are going to apologize then don't even bother. It might hurt me to remember my mum but I have memories of her, which is more than some people can say. Some people have it worse than me so I'm grateful that most of my memories of her were filled with happiness."

 _Huang._

His older brother might be one of the smartest people he knew, but their mother hated him. Their mother kept humiliating his brother just because of his disability. Their mother never gave him a hug since she saw him as a curse. Ling wondered if his brother would cry if their mother died, or would he smile in relief. Unlike him, there was no love between his older brother and their mother.

"It doesn't mean you don't feel hurt about her death."

"If you are trying to comfort me then please don't do it, Ling." Emma looked up at the ceiling. "My mother wanted me to live my life to the fullest. She never liked seeing me sad, which is why I won't allow myself to be consumed in my grief. I have seen what happens to people when they allow themselves to be consumed by their sorrow and hatred…I can't let myself become like these people."

"If you truly believe that then why were you interested in the resurrection part?"

"The dead should never come back to life," Emma touched her butterfly hairclip. "But I know that there are some people who want to bring the dead back to life…I wanted to see if your people were also foolish enough to do this. I wanted to know if there was a consequence to their actions but I will reassure you that I will never bring a dead person back to life."

"No matter how much pain a person feels for their deceased loved one being gone, they should always remember that the resurrected loved ones aren't really the same people that they loved."

Ling could only watch as his bodyguard leave the dining room with her head held high. He should yell at her and tell her that he didn't dismiss her, but he could not bring himself to do it. For all his grandmother's talk, he knew when to leave a person alone in their grief and Emma seemed like she wanted to be by herself.

He wondered if Emma truly believed in her words or if she was trying to fool herself.

* * *

Q: **Would Sasuke and Naruto will be together?**

A: No because Emma will never allow herself to make the same mistake. She might see some changes in Sasuke but she will never allow herself to take such a big risk.

Q: **Are you going to continue this?**

A: Yes.

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A/N: Please review and tell me what you think about this chapter. Please tell me about what you like and dislike about this chapter as well as any improvements that I can make.


	12. Chapter 12

A/N: I want to thank everyone that added this story to their favourites and follows as well as everyone that reviewed the last chapter.

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Emma tilted her head and stared at the dress, which laid on her bed, while the maid bit her lips as she waited for her reaction. Why did this maid bring her a dress? And not just any dress but a beautiful traditional _qipao_. From what she could recall, these dresses weren't cheap in the Xing market. In the olden days, these dresses could be afforded by anyone and were very good for combat. As Naruto Uzumaki, she did not wear them but Tenten tried to convince her to wear these things. She always refused to wear it because Naruto Uzumaki hated anything girly. As Emma Elric, she hated dresses because it reminded her of her mother.

"Why did you bring me a dress?" Emma finally asked.

The maid smoothed her skirt. "Master Ling ordered me to bring this dress to you."

"And why does he want me to wear a dress? My clothes are perfectly fine." Emma fingered the silkiness of the dress while the maid blinked at her question. Did the prince not know she hated people buying stuff for her? He even said it himself that she might kill him if he brought anything for her.

"Aren't you pleased with the dress?"

 _Does it look like I am pleased with this stupid dress? Had this woman ever see me wear a dress?_ Her annoyance and anger must have been shown on her face as the maid flinched at her. There was no reason for her to take her anger out on the poor woman. The woman was just doing her job…but it infuriated her that the boy thought she needed an expensive dress. The dress might be the price of ten months' worth of paychecks.

"I know the prince well enough to know that he isn't doing this from the goodness of his heart. I might be nine but I am not a fool," Emma replied calmly. "Now tell me is there a reason for the dress?"

"Didn't Master Ling inform you about the party being hosted by his father?"

 _Party? Did he mention anything about a party to me?_ She chewed on her bottom lip as she tried to recall her conversation with the prince. She would remember if he talked about her attending a party with him. There was no way she would be willing to go with him to a party, not when she hated small talk. She hated the thought of dances and wearing dresses. As Naruto Uzumaki and Emma Elric, she hated the thought of anything remotely girly.

Ling wouldn't know that unless…

 _Sasuke must have hinted to him that it would be better to spring it on me._

"Is it compulsory for me to go to the party?"

"All bodyguards are required to attend as is the order of the Imperial Concubine," the maid replied automatically.

Emma could only pinch her nose as she dismissed the maid from the room. Not only was it a party hosted by the Emperor but Ling's mother also wanted her sons' bodyguards to be present. It meant that if she was to find out about her disappearing act then the woman would be pissed off. It also meant that all of the Emperor's children would be present along with the Ministers and the clan leaders.

It seemed like she was going to be surrounded by snakes.

" _ **All eyes are going to be focused on you as well, Naruto."**_ Kurama reminded her as she unbuttoned her blouse. Emma frowned. **"** _ **No one in this blasted country has your hair or eye colour."**_

Emma grimaced at Kurama's words. It was easy for her to forget about her status in this country since she had been so focused on her job and her research of this country's alchemy. It did not help that she did not care about how she stood out from these people.

" _Not all eyes will be on me,"_ she slipped into her blue dress. _"Ling and Sasuke are used to my appearance, but you are right that there might be a lot of eyes on me."_

" _ **If I didn't know any better Naruto, I would think that you are not happy about the attention."**_ Kurama commented as she took a seat in front of the table mirror. The whiskered girl chewed on her lips, but did not try to deny his words. Naruto Uzumaki was a girl that craved attention, but Emma Elric was not that kind of girl. She stared at the butterfly hairclip that Edward gave her on their first birthday without their mother. Her past self craved attention because she never had people, who cared for her.

It was different now because Emma does have a loving family.

" _ **You are not happy with the idea of the attention, are you?"**_

" _I might be Naruto Uzumaki but my life as Emma Elric is shaping me to be a bit different from her,"_ Emma explained, weaving her hair into a bun before slipping the butterfly hairclip through her thick hair. She traced her whiskers cheeks, which forever reminded her of her past life. If she did not have Kurama then it was her birthmarks, which reminded her of her past. " _My brothers love me and I have a best friend that cares for me, so I never really needed attention."_

" _ **You haven't really answered my question.**_ "

" _I don't like the idea of people jumping to conclusions about my relationship with Ling,"_ she admitted. " _If his grandmother thought I had a romantic relationship with him, then I don't want to know what they will think."_

" _ **Since when do you care about what people think of you?**_ "

" _I might be a twenty-six in mind but my body is that of a nine-year-old,"_ Emma scowled. " _It is sick that they think a nine-year-old can have a relationship. Now if I was a fifteen then it was a different story…even then I don't think I can be a relationship with someone that is the same age as my physical body."_

It wasn't just because of her mental age too but her experience in life. When her mother died, it had been her job to take care of her brothers. If it was not for the fact that she cooked food, cleaned their clothes and reminded them to do their homework then they would be lost. They spent most of the time doing their research that they didn't have the life skills needed to survive in this world.

" _ **It had been a month since you came here and yet you still miss them."**_ Kurama stated as Emma took one final look at the mirror. Her hair was more golden then sunshine and her eyes might be blue, but there were still tints of green in them. When she ignored the whisker marks on her cheeks, it was easy for her to see how she differed from Naruto Uzumaki.

" _They are my brothers, Kurama,"_ Emma whispered, pulling out the last family photo that they took of each other. She traced her twin brother's features before doing the same to her younger brother. " _Until just recently, we only had each other to rely on. We had never gone a month apart, so of course I will miss them. For goodness sake, I argued with them because I love them to the point that it isn't healthy. You can't expect me to make my heart become cold when it comes to my brothers."_

" _ **You chose to leave them."**_

Emma closed her eyes and took a deep breath. " _Do you think it was easy for me to make that decision? A part of me debated for a whole day to go with them and see what they will experience. I wanted to know that they would be safe with that woman but I was scared about the things I would tell that woman. If I went with them then I would tell her about my brothers' plans and I don't want her to refuse them because of my actions. If she denied them their chance because of me, then they would never forgive me. I don't want them to hate me…I don't think my heart can afford to have my brothers hate me."_

" _ **You still have that fear of abandonment."**_

Maybe her second father's abandonment, their mother's death and Sasuke's actions had affected her more than she was willing to admit, because Emma did not want her brothers to leave her like they did.

She did not want her younger brothers to resent her.

* * *

"Now you actually look like a girl." Ling commented as Emma took her spot beside Huang, not like she had a choice since Lan Fan took her preferred seat, in the car. The blonde felt her eyebrows twitched at Ling's comment while Huang and Lan Fan snorted at the boy's comment. _You are lucky that you are my boss or else I would punch you in the face for that stupid comment._ It seemed like if it was not for her feminine features and long hair, then everyone would think she was a boy because of her clothes. Now she did not care about her appearance but she certainly did not like being mistaken for a pretty boy.

"What did I look like before?"

"You looked like a pretty boy," Ling tilted his head at her. "If it was not for your outfit on your first day in Xing, I would never think that you were a girl. Most girls care about their appearance, act ladylike and will try to get a boy's attention."

"I'm nine."

"I am also nine but it never stopped the girls from trying to get my attention."

The blonde blinked and twisted her head to look at Huang, who nodded his head in agreement. This childish prince was nine? He was taller than Ed by a good couple of inches and looked a lot more mature than him too. She always thought the difference between the two of them was a year or two, but it seemed like they had a smaller age gap then she believed.

"Wait a second if you are nine then how old is Huang?"

"I'm thirteen."

Emma frowned at her teammate's response. She knew that they had an age gap but it never crossed her mind about how big the age gap was between them. Why did they have a huge age gap? If she recalled correctly, she had been the first to die from her wounds. The length of time between their deaths was just a matter of seconds, so why did Sasuke reincarnate first?

Was there something that she did not understand?

"I can understand why you are surprised about Huang," Ling said, snapping her out of her train of thought. "He doesn't really act his age so everyone forgets that he is still thirteen."

Emma could only smile tightly at the boy's words while Huang turned his milky eyes on her. It really unnerved her that Huang could keep his emotions in check. When he had been Sasuke Uchiha, it had been somewhat easy for Naruto to read him. However, she did not have the same luck now. She could not imagine what went through his head as he processed the age gap between them.

Was he just as confused as her?

"The life of a prince means that we can't afford to act our age," Huang traced his cane. "The people of this country must always come first before our own needs."

Ling sighed at his brother's comment, telling Emma about the number of times that her former teammate must have had that talk with his younger brother. Would Ling act this annoyed if he knew just what his brother did to their village? Would he know that Huang was starting to act like Itachi, who always put the village first? He would never believe of the things that the boy did.

If Emma did not knew about Huang's previous life then she would never believe.

"You always talk about the country needs but what about our happiness?" Ling complained. "We have so many duties to this country that we never get the chance to wander around the city, unless we sneaked out. We never get to have fun because of our boring duties."

"If you wish to become a good Emperor then you must endure those boring duties and learn to become wise."

The boy grimaced. "Why don't you become Emperor? Mother might not have given you the same lessons as me but you understand better than those boring tutors and you care a lot about this country."

 _Huang doesn't want to become Emperor because he still feel guilty for what he did in his previous life,_ Emma thought as her teammate could only give an amused smile to his brother. She might not be close to the boy like she was in their previous life, but Emma could understand why there was guilt flowing in his eyes. If Truth allowed Huang to remain clueless about his previous life then he would never remember about all those deaths he caused. He wanted the boy to always suffer for his actions.

Yet why did he allow her to remember?

Wouldn't it have been easier for her to forget about her past.

" _ **Do you wish to forget about who you were, Naruto?**_ " Kurama asked her as she stared out of the carriage. Emma curled her lips at the question. In all these years of living as Emma, she never stopped to ask that question to herself. Would she be happier not knowing about her previous life? Would she be more at ease if she thought her memories were nothing but nightmares or dreams?

The smiling faces of all her friends and acquaintances flashed through her mind. Did she wish that she forget them? Each one of them shaped her in their own way. Kakashi was the one, who taught her about not judging a book by its cover. Gaara made her realize of what she could be if she didn't give up on herself. Hinata had been her first female friend. Sakura might have been jealous of Naruto's relationship with Sasuke but she had been there for her.

How could she wish to forget them?

" _I don't think I can ever forgive myself if I forget them,"_ Emma admitted. " _Truth must have known that I would rather be in pain and remember them, then to live a foolish life where I forgot about how these people shaped me."_

It seemed like Truth knew from the beginning that she was the opposite of Sasuke.

* * *

Emma tucked a strand of her blond hair behind her ear as the car slowed down, hinting that it would not be long before they reached the palace. A part of her felt skittish at the knowledge that all the important people of this country was going to be at the party. They might not pay attention to her because of her young age but they might also pay attention since she came with two princes.

Unconsciously, she linked her arm around Huang, which earned a surprise look from the people around them. Ling raised his eyebrows at her while her former teammate tapped his finger on her arm. To everyone, it might seem like he was annoyed with her actions but Emma knew better; he was trying to tell her that everything would be fine.

"What? It is obvious that Lan Fan is going to protect Ling," Emma lied as Ling and Lan Fan stared at them. "So it makes sense that I am protecting Huang."

"Since when did you fear attention? Is your fear for attention so great that you are willing to forget the fact that you can't stand my guts?" Huang whispered in her ear.

She smiled tightly and answered quietly. "I might not be able to stand your guts but I don't want to look like a fool in front of these people. I never learned politics when I was _her_ because I was always so busy. You might not have learnt politics but you still remember how to weave your way through these people."

"You want to use me," Huang guessed.

"Don't sound like a hurt puppy," Emma whispered harshly, digging her nails against his arm. "Did you forget when you were him that you begged me to save you from those crazy girls? Did you ever hear me complain about how crazy they were?"

"Yes since you never let me forget it."

She scowled while Ling stared at them with confusion. Why was he confused? He couldn't hear their conversation since the two of them were speaking in very low voices. Was it because she wasn't acting like a complete bitch to his brother? Or was it something else? A part of her felt tempted to ask while another part of her wanted to leave this car and go back to her brothers.

"The two of you almost look like an old married couple with the way you guys were talking in hush tones." Ling said with a large smile on his eyes. A part of her could only laugh at the irony of his words. Would he ever believe that his older brother and bodyguard had a history in their past life? As Naruto and Sasuke, they thought that they would marry each other. When they had been Naruto and Sasuke, they argued like an old married couple.

"Who knows? Maybe in another life, we were an old married couple that couldn't stand each other." Huang commented, flickering his milky eyes on her. She felt her heart clenched at the sight of the longing in his eyes. Did he understand why she could never accept their relationship? It was for their own good. At this stage of their first reincarnation, it would be a bad idea to be together.

No matter how much she cared for him, she must never let herself make the same mistake again.

"We would have been the old married couple that would have told the young couples of what not to do when dating someone." Emma commented lightly as the car came to a stop. Huang snorted at her joke while Ling stared at them in confusion.

She shrugged her shoulders and stared out at the window, where several people seemed to have their eyes focused on the car. Emma smoothed her face into a blank expression as the doorman opened the door for them. She loosened her grip on her teammate as Ling took a step out of the car, arms linked to Lan Fan's arm.

Hopefully, no one would pay much attention to them.

"What made you think I know how to weave my way through the politics of my family," Huang whispered in her ear as they stepped out of the car. "I might still have Sasuke's memories but it doesn't necessary mean that I have used his skills."

Emma chewed on her bottom lip as Huang dragged her to the entrance of the palace. Would it be too much if she admitted that she felt the most comfortable with him? Despite his terrible actions as Sasuke, Huang was like her. He was a reincarnated soul of someone that Naruto loved dearly. The part of her, which solely belonged to Naruto, wanted to protect her bastard of a teammate from the people who hurt him.

She would rather die than admit this to him.

"Because Sasuke was always protective of his family members, you became crazy when you learnt what Konoha forced your brother to do," Emma whispered. "I would like to think that trait of yours still shines through you. No, I know that you still have that trait because you love Ling with all your heart. You must have put spies in all of your half-siblings' houses because you want to prevent his death. I think you will blame yourself if anything ever happens to him. I know it because I would do the same for my brothers."

Huang stared at her for a good couple of minutes before letting out a sigh. "You should have been sharper when you were Naruto since the world was a lot more dangerous at the time."

"You don't think I realize that, bastard!"

The black-haired boy chuckled at her comment. For a moment, Emma forgot about the problems they faced. For just one second, she was reminded of why Naruto felt so comfortable with Sasuke. The two of them might have their problems, might be toxic for each other but there was no denying that they always felt at ease with each other.

If the past didn't haunt them then maybe things would be different.

She shook her head and flickered her eyes at their surroundings. Almost everyone seemed to be focused in not looking at them, with only two or three people who seemed to give her looks of pity. She gritted her teeth but held her tongue from saying something spiteful. She might be angry with Huang but it does not mean she deserved to be pitied for having him accompany her.

"You should act like an airhead." Huang whispered. "Don't show them your anger."

The blonde narrowed her eyes. "How can you be so calm? Aren't you furious that they look down on you for being blind?"

"How were you able to pretend to be happy when you were her?" Huang fixed his cloudy black eyes at the men, who seemed intent on staring at them. The men flinched and quickly looked away from them. "The villagers used to look at you like you were a monster but you were always able to keep your head high. I always thought it was easy for you to do it but it isn't as easy as you make it look."

"It was different because I didn't know why they hated me until I was twelve." Emma whispered, taking a glass of juice from the servant. She frowned when the servant did not bother to offer Huang a juice. The blonde opened her mouth to snap at the servant, only to shut her mouth when the boy grabbed the juice from the tray. "I had no choice but to smile because I didn't want to go crazy. I wanted to show them that I am better than what they make me out to be."

"It is similar for me." Huang took a sip of his orange juice. "Acting calm is a coping mechanism for me because I can't allow myself to make the same mistake again. Truth took away my sight, took away everything that I valued so that I understand just how much pain you went through."

"Are you blaming me? Because it sounds like you are blaming me."

"I can't blame you because it is my fault that you died." Huang whispered. "If I hadn't been so consumed by my revenge then none of this would have happened. If Obito hadn't told me the truth then I might have been able to go with Itachi's wish."

Emma closed her eyes at his words. Obito Uchiha had been one of the reasons that Naruto Uzumaki never knew her parents. She should hate him for his actions but she could not hate him for his actions. He wanted Rin to come back just like her brothers wanted their mother to come back. However she could never forgive him for destroying her life, for letting Sasuke live the life that he did.

"It seemed like that bitch is coming," Huang muttered as a black-haired woman walked towards them with a smile plastered on her face. Emma frowned at her former teammate's words. She opened her mouth to question him, only to close it when she felt the wave of anger and disgust radiating from the woman, who was approaching them.

"Why is she so angry with you?"

"Probably because I'm a reminder that she gave birth to a useless prince." Huang commented airily. "It is okay because I will never consider her my mother."

That confirmed her theory about her former teammate's feelings towards his second mother.

Emma forced herself to smile as the woman glided her way towards them; eyes focused on her arm which clung tightly to Huang's arm. The hatred and the coldness in her eyes reminded her of the villagers. The villagers, who never saw Naruto as a human being but a monster that deserved to die. Bile rise to her throat as she imagined the number of times that Huang had been forced to endure such eyes.

She would never wish it on anyone, not even on her enemy.

"Who did you bring with you, my useless son?"

The whiskered girl felt her temper rise at the woman's insult. Useless? Would this woman say those words if she knew that Huang had been a powerful shinobi in his last life? Would she say those words if she knew just how smart he was. Did she really believe his disability make him useless? There had to be a better way to teach Sasuke a lesson than to make him have this bitch as his mother.

"If you weren't so busy trying to get the Emperor's attention then you would know that Ling hired Emma as his bodyguard," Huang paused and added sweetly. "Mother dearest."

His mother blinked and blinked at the news before robotically turning her head to look at her. Those cold eyes soaked in her appearance, eyes focusing on the butterfly hairclip, which clung to her hair. Anger slowly seeped into those icy eyes as the woman realized what her youngest son had done.

"How could he hire a little girl to protect him? She doesn't even come from our bodyguard's clan!" The woman snarled. "Did Ling develop hormones and decide to make any pretty face, his bodyguard! If he wanted another bodyguard then he should tell me! If he wanted someone to warm his bed then he shouldn't make it obvious!"

Emma felt her temper rise at what the woman implied.

"You are sick if you think that your nine-year-old son will bed me since I am only nine!" She replied, subtly digging her nails into Huang's arm. There was no way she would allow her teammate to protect her. "Secondly, I have a name and that name is Emma. Another thing, the boy beside me is Huang! His name isn't useless boy and you should remember that when you are in public. Lastly, Ling isn't an idiot. He made the best decision in hiring me to be his bodyguard, just because I'm a foreigner doesn't mean that I can't defeat assassins."

"Little girl, do you know who you are talking to?"

"I'm talking to the Fourth Imperial Concubine and not the Empress." The woman bristled at the reminder of her status while Huang curled his lips into a smile.

"I believe that I need to go and greet father, Other Mother." Huang smiled widely. "I do hope that you enjoy your evening in trying to get father's attention. I do hope that he could pick you from the crowds of women."

The woman could only glare at their backs as Huang directed her towards the corner of the room. Emma felt her lips turned upwards at the insult that her teammate used for his bitch of a mother. As Sasuke, Huang would never make such catty remarks since he always thought it was beneath him. Her smile faded when she realized that he had no choice but to make such remarks to his mother.

If he wanted to survive in this world then he needed a way to handle these people.

"You know that it was not a good idea to insult her."

"If you want me to apologize to her then I should inform you that nothing in the world would make me want to apologize to that bitch."

Huang frowned. "You do realize that she can make your life hell, right? I thought that you have gotten smarter when it comes to dealing with powerful people! What the hell were you thinking when you insulted her! I don't think even Ling could calm her down."

"You wanted me to stand there and listen to her insult you! I am a lot of things but I won't stand for this injustice! How can I apologize to her when she hurt you? I might be angry with you for what you did when you were him, but I can never apologize to someone that hurt my precious people." She snapped.

He stared at her for a good couple of seconds before twisting his head away from her. Emma felt her lips curled to a smile at the sight of his relaxed shoulders and the corners of the cheeks, which was turned upwards. He did not want to show it to her but Huang seemed to be relieved to know that she still considered him as someone precious to her. She could never forget his actions but a part of her would always remember their good times.

A part of her would always care for him.

"Brother Huang, who did you bring with you?"

The blonde blinked her eyes when she saw a little girl standing in front of them. Brother Huang? Was this one of his half-siblings? She knew his mother had only given birth to him and Ling. There had been no sisters or if they had sisters then their mother must have discreetly killed them. It would not surprise her if the woman had done this since she seemed to only care about power.

"Emma meet Mei Chang. Mei Chang meet my clan's temporary new bodyguard." Huang knelt down to the ground and ruffled the little girl's hair, which earned a smile from the young girl. "She is my parental half-sister born from the Chang's clan imperial concubine. Mei Chang is a genius when it comes to Alkahestry."

"Brother Huang, I'm not a genius." The girl blushed and the blonde felt her heart clenched as she recalled Hinata. Her best friend could never take a compliment even when it was well deserved. Maybe the girl was an outcast like Huang, which was why the two of them could bond. Maybe she reminded Huang of someone in their shared past because it was not easy for him to give compliments.

Emma curled her lips as Huang pointed out that it was difficult to master the art of Alkahestry. A small part of her felt tempted to ask the girl to teach her, but a large part of her felt her heart clenched. While most of Huang's family seemed ready to avoid him, Ling, his grandmother and maybe even this little girl seemed to care for him.

He still had people, who made his life bearable.

"Mei Chang, Emma is someone really important to me." Emma blinked her eyes and the blind boy stared at her with so much trust that she felt guilty for her behavior. "I know that you are here for a few days but can you teach Emma some Alkahestry."

 _What? Why was he doing this?_ She couldn't help but asked herself as the girl stared at her with wide eyes. He had no reason to do this. How did he know about her plans to learn Alkahestry? Did Ling tell him? It was the last time that she read Alkahestry in front of him.

"Brother, Alkahestry isn't something that can be taught in a week." The little girl commented. "Do you really think that a foreigner can learn our alchemy in a matter of days? She would have to be a genius when it comes to alchemy to master it in a week."

Huang smiled. "Have I ever been wrong, Mei Chang?"

The girl chewed on her bottom lip and stared at her for a good couple of minutes. There was doubt shining through her eyes but there was a curiosity in her eyes. Curiosity to see what made her half brother care for her? Or was it curiosity to know why he seemed so certain about her talent? Maybe she would know if the girl accepts the boy's request.

"She must come to my hotel if she wants to learn Alkahestry." The girl smiled. "She must be something for you to show so much faith."

"She doesn't care about the status and who knows maybe one day she will be of use to your clan. Actually, I am certain that she will be able to help you one day to help your clan rise in our bastard father's eyes."

It seemed like in no matter what life, Sasuke was always going to believe her. He seemed to always know what her dreams were and Emma could only feel grateful for him.

They might never be together but they would always have each other's back.

* * *

Q&A:

 **Q: Are you going to make Emma and Huang's relationship better?**

A: It can be seen from this chapter that their relationship is improving but it will never be like their past relationship.

* * *

A/N: What do you think about this chapter? What do you think of the relationship between Huang and Emma? And do continue to tell me about your ideas for this story and your thoughts in general.


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: I want to thank everyone that added this story to their favourites and follows.**

* * *

It seemed like being a blind person in Xing was really a pain in the neck, Emma thought as the pedestrian glared at her and Huang. Even though they were wearing normal civilian clothes, the older boy was still receiving hateful looks from the public. It really felt silly for the people to hate the boy for something which was beyond his control. Was their superstitions so important to them that they forgot all logic? They must realize that the boy did not ask to be blind.

" _Well, he technically did since he shouldn't have caused all those problems in his past life."_ Kurama reminded her as Huang stopped in front of the hotel. Emma sighed. In a way the fox inside of her was right. Truth would have never taken away her former friend's sight; if it was not for the crimes he committed. The being worked by equivalence exchange and the only befitting punishment was to take what Huang valued.

"You should focus on the streets and not with whatever is bothering you, Emma," Hunag commented as they turned to the next corridor.

"How the hell do you know that I am not focusing on the streets? I thought you were blind." She grumbled, fixing her orange scarf. Sometimes it was hard to believe that the bastard was blind. The way he acted, the way he moved and even the way he talked made her think that he was lying about the blindness. However, she knew that the boy would gain nothing from his disability.

"Because I can hear your footsteps slowing down," Huang replied and the blonde knew, without a doubt, that the boy was rolling his eyes at her. It was the type of behaviour he would do whenever he thought that she was asking a really stupid question. Honestly, the bastard only needed to add the word idiot to make it even more obvious about how much of an idiot he thought she was.

"Yes, but how can you pick up my footsteps? There must be fifty people in this street," Emma complained.

Huang sighed and pinched his nose. "Sometimes I think you were reborn an absolute genius and sometimes I think you were born an idiot. Did you forget that I can still sense chakra? You are the only person in this street, who has enough chakra to make a beacon."

"Why must you always insult me?"

"Let me ask you: why do you ask the dumbest questions?" Huang retorted and the blonde could only scowl at his question. It was times like these that Emma really questioned the sanity of her previous life. How the hell did Naruto end up liking this bastard? He insulted her and the number of times that the bastard smiled was like once every month.

Then again Naruto Uzumaki could make friends with her enemies, which was something Emma could never do. How could you make friends with the people who tried to kill you? Who hurt your friends? She might have fond memories of her friends but she would always ask this question whenever she used to watch her brothers sleep.

"I have a lot of things on my mind," Emma finally replied. "My past life might have been focused on you but I have so many things to worry about."

Huang stopped walking and twisted his head to look at her. She didn't need to feel his emotions to know that her former teammate was concerned for her. Maybe he could sense her turmoil but Emma did not feel like she could pour her heart out to him. Naruto Uzumaki used to be an open woman, who trusted the world around her but she was not that girl anymore. She did not know if she could trust him even if he had been her closest friend.

"You know you can talk to me about your problems."

"I don't think talking about my problems can solve it," Emma tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear. "Besides you never talk about your problems to me when you were Sasuke, so how can you expect me to do the same?"

"Do you really believe it was right for me not to talk to you or even Kakashi about my problems?"

 _It was never right, but I understand now why you avoided talking about your family and why you became that kind of person,_ Emma thought, remembering the number of times that she asked Sasuke about his family. How could Sasuke be willing to talk to them when it was his brother that murdered his family? How could Naruto expect Sasuke to come back to the village that destroyed his family? It had been so wrong to think like that.

' _How could you understand my pain when you never had a family?'_

In a way, Sasuke was right because Emma could never understand his pain. She might have lost her mother and her father abandoned her and her brothers, but they hadn't been murdered by their family members. However, he could never understand her pain. Could he understand the depth of her turmoil? Could he understand the number of arguments that she had with her two young brothers about their plans? The nightmares she had from what their consequence might be.

For the last four years, she had been the one raising her two brothers.

"You had your reasons for not telling us about your problems and I have my reasons for not telling you about my problems." Emma finally answered.

The blonde clutched her chest as she felt the overwhelming emotions, which flowed from him. Must he always suffocate her with his negative emotions? Why should he feel guilty? She didn't blame him for what happened in Konoha. She only blamed him for her death, for not giving up his revenge but that was it.

"You know you can't carry the world on your shoulders or think that you can fix everything," her former teammate informed her. The softness and gentleness of his tone unnerved her. The boy Naruto knew was never soft or gentle to her. He had always been guarded, always closing her off. "You need to start relying on people."

Rely on people? Emma smiled bitterly at his words. Wasn't it ironic that it was Sasuke's reincarnation was giving her this kind of advice? Did he think it was easy for her to talk about her brothers' plans? He didn't know about Alchemy. He didn't understand how it worked, which meant he didn't know about the equivalent exchange. He could never understand the nightmares or thoughts she had for the last couple of years.

He didn't have to know that his brother was attempting something pointless.

"You know I think we always expect each other to act like our previous lives," Emma took a deep breath and continued. "We always think that we will be books to each other since we know everything to each other. Yet, we always forget that we aren't completely Naruto and Sasuke; we are also Emma and Huang. The things that happened in this life also affects us, also changes us and it is shaping us to be different from our past life. Can you tell me that you haven't changed since living this life?"

Huang shook his head. "I will be an idiot to say otherwise."

"It is because of my experience in this life that I can't rely on people," Emma curled her lips into a sad smile as she recalled her father. "People always have the habit of making promises, only for them to break promises. You write them a letter, begging them to come home because your loved one is dying and only to find out that person isn't coming back. How can you rely on people?"

"You used to see the positive in the world."

Emma shook her head. "Naruto Uzumaki only saw what she wanted to see but I am not going to be like that. If I want to accomplish my dreams then I need to think realistically. I need to understand how the world works, how the cultures of other countries are because you can't enforce your vision on people. If you want to be a good leader then you must understand the people of the world."

She would never allow herself to become a foolish leader.

* * *

Emma could still distinctly recall the day that Naruto learnt Sealing. Her previous self-had been so curious about her mother's clan that she did all kinds of research about them. There were many things, which her previous life could not learn from her clan. However, seals were the only thing she could learn. It had been the first and last time that Naruto Uzumaki was willing to open a book to learn.

However, Alkahestry wasn't something which could be learnt from a book.

"You only brought her with you, Huang?" Mei yelled as the two of them entered her hotel room. Emma flickered her eyes towards her former teammate, who pinched his nose at his sister's yells. "Don't make that expression, Huang! You might be blind but you are still a prince of this country! Everyone knows that your mother hadn't trained you in defence! What if the first or the fifth prince tries to kill you?"

"Do you truly believe that our half-brothers give a shit about the blind kid? I am perfectly harmless," Huang commented, tapping his cane against the chair. Emma curled her lips at her former teammate's lie. He might look harmless but he probably still recalled how to use a sword.

His half-sister pinched her nose and sighed. "I might be seven but I'm not stupid when it comes to our family politics. You know that they think every male in this family is a threat."

The black-haired boy kept quiet at the mention of their family and Emma wondered how messed their family had to be. Had the Daimyo family been as a messed up as these people? Did all the Royals had a messed up family? She would probably never know and to be honest, she rather not know about how messed up these people were.

"I will keep your warning in mind," Huang finally commented, turning his body away from them. He tapped his cane before making his way towards Mei. The older boy had a small smile playing on his lips as he knelt to look at his sister. Emma felt her heart clenched when the boy flickered his finger against his sister's forehead, earning a tiny smile from the little girl. "Take care of yourself Mei and I will pick up Emma in an hour."

"You know I can go back by myself," Emma called out to him.

Huang chuckled. "Knowing you, you probably have memorized all the routes in this city but let us pretend that you are a girl, who has no sense of direction. Besides, Ling will annoy me if he finds out that I came back without you."

The blond-haired girl felt her lips twitched as Huang closed the door between them. The bastard wasn't wrong. On her second day of the job, she had memorized all the routes and sewers in this city. It was only natural as a prankster that she would find all the routes of escapes. The shinobi of her always needed to be reassured, always needed to be prepared…and maybe she had a plan to play a prank on Huang's biological mother.

She still needed to come up with a way to make sure that there was no chance that it could link back to her.

"Huang and you are very close," Mei commented. "He doesn't seem to treat you like the usual bodyguards—he actually likes you."

"Probably because I don't see him as a curse," she replied. _Maybe also because a part of him still love me_ , Emma thought to herself as she recalled the fondness and love that Naruto and Sasuke had for each other. He would always be fond of her because they both knew the truth about each other because a part of them would still carry a torch for each other.

"It doesn't explain why he wanted me to teach you, Alkahestry," Mei Chang pointed out.

"Because he heard from Ling about my interest and my attempts to learn the art," Emma sighed. "He probably thinks that if I learn Alkahestry then I can protect his brother better."

Mei curled her lips but made no comment. The little girl might not be able to talk but Emma could feel the jealously that the girl had. It must be sad to know that one sibling was loved more than the other, or maybe there were many other reasons for her to have the green-eyed monster.

She probably would never know.

"What do you know about Alkahestry?" Mei asked, changing the topic. "If I am going to teach you Alkahestry then I need to know how much knowledge you have on the subject."

Emma rubbed the back of her neck as the information swirled around her head. "I know that your people seemed to have the belief that there is a flow of life energy within the Earth."

"Well you have the basic idea down," Mei Chang commented. "What you just described was the Dragon's Pulse. The energy that you described is found in everything and everywhere."

 _So it is similar to Senjutsu?_ Emma asked herself as Mei Chang continued to tell her about the origins of the Dragon's Pulse. The idea felt similar, but Senjutsu required them to mix her chakra with nature's energy. The Dragon's Pulse does not require her to do that instead, it seemed like she needed to learn how to manipulate the energy around her and inside her. She nodded her head as the girl continued to tell her about how the art was done.

Emma chewed on her bottom lip when the girl pulled out several kunais. She watched as the girl drew a transmutation circle with her kunais, destroying the carpet. Emma's eyes widened when she realized that the circle drawn was not the same as the one she knew. No, when she looked at it carefully, it was being drawn the other way around. This seemed interesting if you asked her.

She tilted her head when the girl placed her kunais on top of the circle.

"Why did you put your kunais there?"

"We need a marker for the energy to flow," Mei Chang explained. "How can energy flow if there is no medium for them to be guided?"

When the girl put it in that way then it made sense. It almost reminded her of the characters in the seals, because even though she placed her chakra into a piece of paper then it was not enough for it to be called a seal. Characters were needed for the seal to work and the location of each character was just as important. Alkahestry works in a similar idea, only except they needed a few mediums for it to work.

Or so she thought.

A flash of bright light occurred and Emma blinked her eyes at the sight of a tiny blue teddy bear. _Alphonse would like that bear_ , Emma mused to herself as the little girl picked the bear up. Her younger brother always had a fondness for anything cute and fluffy. She forgot the number of times that she argued with him for bringing a stray cat into the house. That boy would always try to act cute, which was never fair.

He knew that she could never say no to him.

"You should try to do the same."

Emma nodded her head and took out the kunai from the carpet. It felt strange to touch a kunai if you asked her. It had been so long since she touched one; the last time being the days of the war that Naruto fought. She shook her head and copied the transmutation circle that the little girl made.

She placed the kunais on the corners of the circles and closed her eyes. What did Mei tell her? To use her chi energy? And to feel the energy around her? She closed her eyes and willed her chakra to flow into the circle drawn as well as gathering the energy from their surroundings, which was easier said than done. Emma was glad that she remembered how to do senjutsu because there was no way that this would be easy for anyone. Although would chakra be a good substitute? It was still a form of life energy.

She did say about using the life energy in her.

"You are doing it wrong. I don't know the energy that you are using but it isn't chi."

"You mean to tell me that I can only use chi energy?" The little girl nodded and Emma groaned. "Great, just great. Why the hell did no one mention this to me? Now I am going to be spending most of my time, trying to separate my chakra from my chi."

Mei blinked her eyes at her and Emma felt a sense of horror, when she saw the wonder and curiosity in the girl's eyes. Did no one in this country know how to use chakra? It made sense in her country but Xing was made up of two countries from her past life. It would make sense for the practice of chakra to be passed down. How could they ignore their past? Their history?

' _ **But what is the point of them learning chakra when there are no more wars in this part of the region?'**_ Kurama asked her.

Emma frowned at his question. She hated to admit it but the damn fox was right. Didn't she have plans of stopping the wars? Didn't she want the practice of child shinobi to be destroyed? What would be the point of having shinobi if there were no more wars in this region? There was no sense for continuing that tradition.

"Most foreigners, no most people, don't know about Chakra," Mei said, not giving Emma a chance to deny what she just said or to make up a cover story. "I only know about it because I was always so interested in the legend of Naruto and the times before Xing. They say that the people before us could use a type of life energy called Chakra but somewhere along the way, we have forgotten how to use it. They say that it was so powerful that there were techniques which could destroy a whole town. How can you use it? And…"

 _Because I'm Naruto?_ Emma thought as the girl continued to ask her questions about her knowledge of the energy. How the hell could she inform the girl that she was a reincarnated soul? There was no way that she could inform a stranger when she hadn't even told her brothers the truth.

' _ **Do you truly believe they would believe your story?'**_

' _I can dream, can't I?'_ Kurama laughed and the blonde could only scowl at the old fox. Was it wrong for her to hope that Ed and Al would believe in her stories? Then again, what could be her proof? They would need physical proof to believe her story and there was no evidence. It was not even like her friends were still alive. No, they were either dead or were now reincarnated souls.

Even if they were reincarnated souls, there was no telling if they had their memories of their times with each other or if they believed it had been a beautiful nightmare.

"Does everyone in the Yao Clan know that you can use chakra?" Mei Chang asked, snapping her from her thoughts.

Emma snorted. "Do you think I will be foolish to tell everyone that I can use it? The only person, who knows that I can use chakra is Huang."

It was not like she even told him that she could use chakra without any problems. The boy might have lost his sight, but he hadn't lost his ability to sense chakra. If he couldn't sense her chakra then she would never tell him about her abilities. She would keep it a secret because Emma did not want to hurt the boy with the knowledge that she could access her chakra without any problems. She might feel hurt and angry with him for killing her but Emma does not wish to hurt him with this knowledge.

"Why do you think it is foolish? The Emperor would be interested to know how you are able to access the chakra but he wouldn't do anything to you," Mei Chang smoothed her clothes. "Almost everyone in this land thinks that chakra is nothing but a legend, yet you were able to use life energy that wasn't chi. If it really is chakra then people will be curious to know how you are able to access this energy."

It was easy for Emma to forget that this girl was young. Despite being a little girl, Mei Chang did not talk like the average seven-year-old nor did she acted like one. Huang's sister talked like she was older than her age and was certainly a lot smarter than Ling, who certainly acted like an idiot. It was just easy to forget that a kid could still be so naïve. Maybe because her experience in life had made it hard for her to act like a kid.

"Because I don't want to be a tool or to be experimented upon," Emma gritted her teeth as she recalled the number of experiments done on her fellow shinobis that had Kekkai Genkai. How many people had Orochimaru had taken for his quest for immortality? How many people had he killed because of his experiments? She did not want to have that fate. "You are still young Mei Chang, but the world isn't as safe as you think it is. You might think that your family's politics is the only dangerous thing, but the government can be just as dangerous. People hate things that they don't understand and nothing in the world would allow them to understand how I have it."

Well not unless they had someone with the Byakugan, but Emma presumed that the Hyuga clan and their descendants had lost access to their eyes, due to the survival of the fittest.

"Is that why you keep it a secret from the Yao Clan?" Mei asked.

Emma nodded. "My own family doesn't know that I have access to this energy, so you and Huang are the only people that know about my ability. Please Mei, I know I am asking a lot from you but can you keep it a secret?"

The girl could only stare at her with wide eyes before nodding her head. Relaxing her shoulders, Emma stared out at the hotel window before glancing back to the transmutation circle that she made. Her biggest problem was going to be separating her chakra from her chi energy? Was it even possible for a person to separate two forms of energy? She knew that there could be more energy of one than the other but to separate them…it had never been done.

She grinned.

It would be nice to boast that she had been able to separate her energies.

* * *

Q&A:

Q: **Would Emma make in time to see Ed's and Al's failed attempt at Human Transmutation?**

A: You will just have to wait and see.

Q: **Will there be an older/ younger sister relationship between Emma and Mei Chang?**

A: I can see their relationship as one between sisters.

* * *

A/N: Please review and tell me what you think about this chapter. What do you think about the world building of this story? Do you believe the relationships between the characters are realistic? Also please continue to tell me about who you think Emma should be paired with. The poll for her pairings will remain open until chapter 20. Also, constructive criticism is always welcome.


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